


Emrys: Seeds of Destruction

by A_once_and_future_love



Series: The A.L.B.I.O.N series [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - FBI, Alternate Universe - Movie Fusion, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Hellboy - Freeform, M/M, Merlin-Hellboy Fusion, demon! Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-09
Updated: 2013-11-09
Packaged: 2017-12-31 22:17:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1037013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_once_and_future_love/pseuds/A_once_and_future_love
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue- Scotland 1944

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own Merlin. Don't own Hellboy. Don't sue.

 

What is it that makes a man a man?

Is it his origins, the way things start?

Or is it something else, something harder to describe?

For Professor Gaius Wilson, it all began in 1944 on a classified mission off the coast of Scotland. The Nazis had become desperate, combining science and black magic to upset the balance of the war. Being paranormal advisor to President Roosevelt, he and a small squad of soldiers quietly invaded the small island, not knowing that what they would find would change their lives forever.

* * *

 **Avalon Island, October **9th**** **,** **1944**

**11:49 PM**

Gaius and the commander of the squadron, a man by the name of Odin, crotched in a low ditch and the young professor pulled a small wooden box from the large pack over his shoulder.

"Here," He opened the box and handed a large rosary to the old sergeant. "You and your men will each need one of these."

Odin chuckled. "Are you Catholic?"

"Amongst other things, yes."

Odin let out a small laugh before holding out his spare rifle. "Here,  _you'll_  need this." But Gaius shook his head at the weapon.

"No, I abhor the use of violence."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two as the first few drops of rain began to fall. "Sergeant Odin," Gaius spoke up. "I hope you don't think me mad-"

"Three days too late for that, Professor Wilson."

The rain was coming down in sheets now, and the soldiers were becoming anxious. Finally, Odin had enough.

"You're wasting our time." He snapped. "There's nothing on this island but sheep and rocks."

" _Ruins_." Gaius corrected. "Not rocks. The remains of Trondham Abbey. Built on an intersection of Ley Lines, the boundaries between our world and the other-"

"That's a load of hog swallow. Before you joined, I'd never even heard the word 'parabnormal'."

" _Paranormal_ and you read the transmission as well as I."

"What I read was a bunch of German nonsense, talking about ghosts and hocus pocus."

"I have seen ghosts, Sergeant."

Odin rolled his eyes. "Of course you have."

Their attention was brought away from the conversation when a large spotlight suddenly lit up beyond the rut they sat in. The squadron slowly rose up to peek over the edge and gaped at the sight of a large group of Nazis standing in the center of the ruins not a hundred yards away.

"I'm sure they're here for the sheep." Gaius whispered with a smug smirk. They moved out of the ditch to the outer walls of the ruins, watching as a hooded figure stepped into the center of the Nazis, where a large, circular machine stood. The hood lowered to reveal a beautiful woman with long dark hair and bright blue eyes. Gaius let out a gasp of recognition, but offered no explanation as the woman motioned to a man with two long blades in his hands and a metal mask covering his face. The man nodded and walked to the edge of the group, standing guard.

"The freak in the gas mask?" Odin looked to Gaius for answers.

"Myror. If he and Nimueh are here, this is worse than I thought." The young professor responded vaguely, attention firmly fixed on the ritual.

* * *

A burly man with short brown hair approached Nimueh, who smiled and handed him a large leather bound book. "No matter what, my work must continue." She whispered, placing a kiss on his forehead. "I grant you everlasting life, dear Valiant."

The man Valiant bowed low to her and left the small gathering hurriedly. Nimueh turned to face the Nazis. "It's time." She announced. One of the generals brought a large box to her, which she opened and pulled a golden gantlet from.

"Tonight," she proclaimed, putting the gantlet on her left hand. "We will open a portal, and awaken the Seven Gods of Chaos! Our enemies will be destroyed, all impurity being razed from our world, and from the ashes a new Eden will arise!"

She pointed the gantlet towards the circular machine and chanted.

_"Wacan hlaford fram abysgian. Brengan feorr Emrys, Caeg fram Dóm!"_

The machine flashed with golden light and a whirlwind opened inside.

A small flash of white lit up behind her for a second, but her attention was fixed firmly on the portal, knowing Myror would take care of any interruptions.

* * *

Geoffrey, one of the younger soldiers sitting behind Gaius, was forcibly pulled back behind the wall, camera still in hand.

"I was trying to document-"

"Listen here, you moron!" Odin growled. "You try something like that again and I'll carve you a new one, got it?"

"We need to do something!" Gaius hissed. "They've opened the portal! We need to close it before anything gets through!"

* * *

Myror, who noticed the camera flash at the same time as Nimueh, edged closer to the wall, his hands tightening around the hilt of his blades in anticipation, when something launched from behind the wall and landed at his feet. He barely had time to acknowledge the grenade before it exploded, throwing him back against a nearby archway and drawing the Nazis' attention away from Nimueh, now floating three feet off the ground like a marionette.

The ally soldiers ran in guns blazing, barely giving the Nazi troops time to react. Gaius made his way towards Nimueh, hoping to find a way to disable the machine before it was too late. He tumbled to the ground when a sharp pain shot through his leg, and it didn't take a medic to tell him that he'd been hit. He looked up at an old German general sneering down at him with his gun raised to deliver the killing shot and suddenly the general was lying on the ground, covered with bullet holes and Geoffrey and Odin were helping him to his feet.

"The portal…" he gasped against the pain.

"Will this stop it?" Odin asked, pulling a grenade out of a pouch hooked on his belt and handing it to Gaius.

All of a sudden, the sergeant gasped out in surprise, and a large blade stuck out his chest. Releasing their hold on him, Geoffrey and Gaius turned to see Myror standing behind them, his blade red with Odin's blood and the other raised to finish them off next.

Gaius stared down Myror, unafraid of whatever terrible death he had planned. To the assassin's surprise, the young professor pulled the pin on Odin's grenade and tossed it towards the open portal, grinning as it to slide underneath.

Forgetting about the cocky professor and the terrified soldier, he ran to the portal and slid under it as far as he could, his fingers just out of reach of the explosive. The ruins lit up as the portal went down in a cascade of flames, throwing Myror out of sight.

Gaius watched as Nimueh writhed and jerked in the air, the gantlet ripping her apart until her howls of pain were only echoes and the gantlet a piece of rumpled up gold. The soldiers let out a cheer of victory, but Gaius frowned and bit his lip in concern.

"What's wrong, Gaius? We closed the portal!" Geoffrey cheered.

"Yes," Gaius nodded. "But it was open to our world for too long. Something may have come through. We need to look around to be sure."

Geoffrey relayed the warning to the other men, who began searching the abbey while he helped Gaius limp into a small chamber to look at his leg.

* * *

Geoffrey froze at every sound while he wrapped Gaius' leg up. "Do you believe in hell?" he asked in a shaky voice.

Gaius sighed. "There is a place -a dark place where evil slumbers and awaits to return. From there it infects our dreams, our thoughts. Nimueh gave us a glance of that world tonight."

"Nimueh? That pretty lady?"

Gaius nodded and opened his mouth to say more, but a loud squeak sounded in the chamber, causing Geoffrey to jump back. "What was that?"

Gaius glanced at the ledge around the ceiling of the small chamber, his eyes finally landing on a small figure curled up in the corner. Geoffrey saw it too and drew his gun, letting loose a shot. The figure screeched like a bird and scurried over to one of the other corners. Geoffrey moved his gun towards it again, but Gaius held his hand out.

"No!" he whispered as the rest of the squad filed in, hearing the gunshot. "He's frightened."

Gaius reached into his pack and pulled out a bar of chocolate he had stashed away, slowly unwrapping it and holding it up towards the figure. "Are you hungry? Would you like some food?"

The figure slowly raised its head to reveal two bright gold eyes in the shadows. Gaius took a bite from the bar to show it was safe and held it back up, smiling as the figure inched forward.

Quick as it could, the bar was snatched from Gaius' hand and devoured it in seconds. Gaius pulled another bar from his bag, whispering for one of the men to grab a blanket. Geoffrey handed him a large wool blanket from his pack and Gaius held the new bar of chocolate up to the figure.

"I have more, but you're going to have to come down if you want it." He placed the chocolate bar in the blanket and held it out like a net. The figure crawled to the edge carefully before finally making its decision and jumping down into Gaius' arms, allowing them all to get a better look at him. Gaius' face lit up with joy.

"It's a boy." He whispered. "A baby boy."

He was small, about the size of a four year old child, with short black hair and ears that were adorably big. He almost could've passed off for a human child, except the outer edges of his skin were fiery red, and his eyes a vivid gold. Gaius knew at once that he was the child of a demon, a creature from the other world, and that they should kill him while they had the chance. But then, he looked into his eyes and saw so much goodness, and light and love that when the little demon smiled up at him, Gaius fell in love.

"What do we do with it?" Geoffrey asked, looking at him from over Gaius' shoulder.

Gaius bundled the demon in the blanket and held him tight. "I'm going to raise him."

"What are you going to call him?"

Gaius thought for a moment and smiled. "Merlin."

And from that point on, Gaius was a father. The American Government adopted the demon and put him under Gaius charge, on the condition that he live in a government facility and his existence never be known to the public.

And so A.L.B.I.O.N was born, and there Merlin sits to this day; the U.S Government's biggest secret.


	2. Welcome to A.L.B.I.O.N

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own Merlin. Still don't own Hellboy. Please don't sue me.

**_68 Years Later…_ **

**September 28th -The Himalayas**

**8:14 AM**

Devlin led the two quiet strangers up the mountainside, not knowing why they wanted to go so far up the cursed peak, and being paid well enough not to ask. He glanced back at them occasionally, noticing that one of the men continuously pulled his hood lower on his face, while the other stared back at him as though challenging him to say anything. When they were a few miles from the summit, the two men stopped and began walking towards the ancient temple that was carved into the rocks. Devlin wasn't a particularly superstitious man, but he'd grown up in the village near the foot of the mountain and had been brought up hearing the legends surrounding the temple.

"This is as far as I go." He stated, standing his ground against the two men. The one who'd been watching him lowered his hood, giving him a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He was

"Of course, and thank you for bringing us this far. And I can assure you that you will be paid  _in full_." He nodded at the other man, who drew out two swords, and before Devlin could react, the swords were in his throat.

Valiant smiled as the guide's body fell to ground, his blood running into the small ruts in the stone courtyard of the temple. Myror cleaned his blade on the snow before sheathing it and moving to Valiant's side. The blood continued until it began pooling in the center, and soon a feminine figure rose from it. Valiant and Myror kneeled as Nimueh stepped away from the pool, her blue eyes contrasting the deep red now covering her skin.

Valiant smiled widely. "Welcome back, milady."

* * *

**October 31st - Caerleon Oncology Clinic, New York City**

**10:36 AM**

Gaius pulled his shirt back on as the doctor whispered to the nurse outside. Though he couldn't hear them, he knew exactly what they were talking about. The treatments weren't working. He could feel it in his heart.

When the doctor reentered the room, he cast Gaius a smile that was supposed to be comforting, but the old professor had seen it and used it way too many times to be fooled. Still, he returned it and listened to the doctor tell him what he already knew. He was going to die, and soon.

"Malignant sarcoma. In the lungs... the spine, liver..."

"How long?"

The doctor looked up sadly from his charts. "I'd say… a month, maybe two." He placed a hand on Gaius' shoulder. "I can arrange hospitalization, pain management; make it more bearable…"

Gaius waved his hand dismissively. "No, I'd much rather be at home, making arrangements and spending time…with my son." He subconsciously laid a hand on his rosary and sighed.

"Of course." The doctor nodded, tucking his clipboard under his arm. "And if you wanted a second opinion…"

Gaius stood up and shook the doctor's hand. "I don't believe that will be necessary, but thank you."

Gaius slowly walked out of the doctor's office and onto the streets of New York, smirking as he passed a television screen with a very familiar face on it.

_"So, what do you think of these so called 'DemonChild' sightings?" the beautiful news reporter asked, leaning her head against her hand as she listened to her guest's response._

_"Well, Vivian," Agent Julius Borden responded, clearly annoyed by topic. "I think it's ridiculous that people would ever believe that the government is spending money to take care of some 'DemonChild'. It's just… insane."_

_The blonde newswoman nodded. "There are people who believe they've seen him, and we have some pictures here of supposed 'DemonChild' sightings."_

_On the screen behind them a group of photos began to pop up, some taken of rooftops, some in alleys, and one on a street corner, but each had a blurry, red-tinted figure running by. If Borden had any recognition of the figure, his face didn't betray it._

_"What I don't understand," the FBI agent said. "Is that in every picture of mythical creatures- Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, this DemonChild- they're blurry. You can't see them, why is that? Because they're_ not real. _" Borden put extra emphasis on the last two words. "And this place- what did you call it?"_

_"A.L.B.I.O.N"_

_"Yes, this A.L.B.I.O.N. Let me assure you, America. There is no such place."_

* * *

**Arcane Life Bureau of Investigation, Obviation, and Nullification (A.L.B.I.O.N) Headquarters, New Jersey**

**2:45 PM**

A large black car with blacked out windows pulled in front of the massive iron gate surrounding the complex. One of the back doors swung open and a beautiful, dark-skinned woman with curly brown hair and a bright smile stepped out, thanking the driver as he handed her the luggage from the trunk. Approaching the gate eagerly, she smoothed some wrinkles out of her pantsuit and pushed the intercom button.

 _"Who are you?"_ a voice asked.

"Ummm, Gwen… Guinevere Smith. I'm an FBI transfer from Quantico." There were a few seconds of silence when, suddenly, an eyepiece extended from the wall.

_"Look into the eyepiece, ma'am."_

Gwen glanced around, wondering if this was some kind of joke, but deciding it was in her best interest, she looked into the eyepiece. There was a sudden flash of blinding light and all of her credentials appeared on a small screen next to the eyepiece.

_"Thank you, Ms. Smith. Please go inside and have a nice day."_

The gates opened and Gwen carried her luggage up the road and into the enormous complex. In the lobby area sat a massive desk with a man (who she assumed was the man she'd just spoken to), sitting behind it. Without looking up from whatever it was he was reading, he motioned for her to step forward.

"Stand on the seal and watch your hands." He instructed, pointing to a large seal in the center of the hall. Gwen walked over to stand on it cautiously, wondering why she'd have to watch her hands when the seal began to sink into the floor. She gasped at the sudden lurch and tried not to panic as it descended lower into the floor, eventually stopping at a long, dark hallway.

Gwen swallowed hard and stepped off the elevator, wondering where she was supposed to go and why the hell she was sent to work-let alone live- here. At the end of the hall stood a magnificent oak door, with elaborate carvings and beautiful polishing. She knocked on the door, and when no one answered she let herself in.

The room beyond the door was just as magnificent. It was a library surrounded by a massive fish tank. In the center of the back wall stood a gorgeous painting, of what she didn't know, but it was gorgeous all the same.

She tilted her head curiously when she spotted a book lying open on a desk next to the fish tank. Moving towards it, she recognized it as 'Gwaine and the Green Knight', and she grinned, remembering the story from her childhood.

"Would you turn the page?"

Gwen jumped nearly three feet in the air in surprise and looked around the room for the source of the voice.

"Over here."

She turned towards the tank to see a handsome man wearing only black swim trunks floating behind the glass, his long, brown hair hovering around his face.

Then, she saw them.

On his neck were a pair of large gills, moving and twitching as he breathed. His hands and feet were webbed like a fish's fins, and it was only then she noticed his skin had a faint blue tint to it, contrasting the light green that outlined the webbing.

Her surprise must have been obvious, because the man chuckled at her and shook his head. "Let me guess; it's your first time here?"

Gwen nodded hesitantly, not believing what she was seeing.

The man nodded with her. "Right. Morgana, I think you'd better take it from here."

Gwen turned again to see a raven-haired woman with striking green eyes standing in the center of the room. She smiled warmly at Gwen.

"Hi, I'm Morgana Le Fay." She greeted, holding her hand out to the agent, who absentmindedly took it. "I see you've already met Gwaine. Gaius should be here shortly to explain everything to you, Gwen."

"Thanks." She smiled at the dark haired girl. "I- wait. I never introduced myself." Gwen now eyed Morgana suspiciously, letting go of her hand and backing away a step.

"She gets in your head." Gwaine explained from the tank. "She can read your mind, emotions, whatever- but it always works best when she touches you."

"I know that your name is Guinevere Smith and you are 24 years old. I know that you've wanted to join law enforcement since you were 10 because your father was killed in an armed robbery, an event after which you and your brother, Elyan, were put in the system and were moved from foster home to foster home until Elyan ran away, leaving you to fend for yourself. You're incredibly smart, but you don't believe you are and second guess yourself all the time, which is why you only received mediocre grades in school. You also believe that you've been transferred here to be a 'desk jockey', but you're trying to be optimistic about it all because this is your first real assignment since graduating from the academy. But I'll tell you right now, Gwen. This is not a desk job, and you must be very special to be picked to work here."

Gwen was silent and slack-jawed for a few minutes, looking from the half-fish half-man to the dark haired psychic girl, who just shrugged. At that moment an older man with a kind face came walking down the stairs with another FBI agent behind him.

"Now, don't you two go startling the poor girl." He reprimanded. "It's her first day ever meeting special people like you, and between the two of you she'll have a stroke before we can even introduce her to her assignment."

Morgana looked over at the agent behind the old man. "Is she taking your place, Will?"

The agent nodded. "Apparently, I let him out one too many times, and I 'egged him on'" He responded with air quotes. Gwaine laughed from the tank.

"Yeah, because that's why he kept getting out, not at all because of-"

"Shut up, Fishface." Morgana warned, eyeing him with a look that could set fire to ice. Gwaine held his hands up in surrender and kept quiet.

Gwen watched the back and forth, eyes wide until the old man placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Agent Smith?"

She nodded, unable to form words.

"Good. I am Professor Gaius Wilson. If you'll follow me and Agent Eldor here, I will explain things a little better."

He led her through a door at the back of the room, Will following close behind. They entered a hall similar to the one she'd come in through, but was better lit with huge 51's painted on the walls.

Gaius cleared his throat. "Gwaine and Morgana are both very unique beings. Unique, Agent Smith, is a word you will hear used around here very often."

"I'll say." She heard Will mutter behind them, earning him a glare from Gaius.

"Gwaine was found in a lab in South Dakota, thought to be an 'alien from outer space' by some crackpot scientist who decided to experiment on him. When we finally found him, the poor lad couldn't even remember his real name, much less anything else. So, we took him in, nursed him back to health, and let him pick a name for himself. In the end, he chose to name himself after his favorite story I read him."

"A right pain in the ass is what he is." Will muttered again, but this time Gaius just shrugged in agreement.

"He is quite… overwhelming at times."

"And what about…" Gwen nodded back towards the door.

"Morgana? She has a special frontal lobe in her brain; something she was born with. She can read information from almost anything, which is nice… when she's awake."

"She gets nightmares a lot, and her screaming keeps everyone up all bloody night." Will cut in again, ducking out of the way of a slap to the back of the head Gaius directed at him.

"The poor girl can't help it." He snapped before looking back at Gwen. "Agent Smith, do you remember the seal you stood on when you entered the building?"

"Yes. The inscription was Latin. In absentia luci, tenebrae vinciunt..."

"In the absence of light, darkness prevails…" Gaius translated, beaming with pride at the girl's memory. "The truth is, Agent Smith, there are things that go bump in the night. We're the ones who bump back."

Gwen frowned and Gaius explained as they reached a section of the corridor with museum-like glass containers lining the wall, each with a different and strange artifact.

"1937: Hitler joins "The Thule Society" - a group of German aristocrats obsessed with the occult."

He motioned to one of the containers holding a broken spear.

"1938: he acquires the Spear of Longinus, which pierced the body of Christ. He who holds it becomes invincible. His power increase tenfold. In 1943, President Roosevelt decides to fight back and creates A.L.B.I.O.N. 1958: The occult war ends with Hitler's death."

"Adolf Hitler died in '45." Gwen corrected, getting a chuckle from both Will and Gaius.

"Did he now?" the old man responded cryptically. The three stopped when they came to the end of the hall, where a large set of double doors stood with a vault-like lock. "Agent Smith, follow Agent Eldor's lead."

Will stepped forward and Gwen looked between Gaius and the door. "You're not coming?"

Gaius shook his head. "I handpicked you, Agent Smith, from a list of seventy academy graduates. Make me proud." Before turning to leave, he pulled out two candy bars from his pocket and handed them to her with a wink.

After Gaius left, Gwen turned to face Will, who'd already unlocked the door and was now standing by smirking at her. "You ready?"

Gwen gave him a confused look. "For what?"

"To meet the rest of the family." He replied simply, pushing open the door and pulling her inside.


	3. Playing our Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously own neither Merlin nor Hellboy.  
> No suing allowed.

 

        The first thing Gwen noticed when she entered the room were the cats. There were at least twenty of them, all lounging around the room, all varying in size, age and color. Then, she saw the bed pressed against the far wall with three television set propped up around it, one showing a local news show, one with an old black-and-white horror movie playing, and the other with Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote cartoons.

She laughed quietly as the coyote ran into his own painted tunnel and then directed her attention to the news television, where they were currently doing a exposé on the 'DemonChild' after his latest sighting. A sketch popped up behind the blonde newscaster of a horrible, disfigured monster with large horns, pointed teeth and sharp claws.

"I hate those things." A voice with a deep Irish accent said from the shadows to her left. "They never quite capture the claws right."

Gwen jumped back when she saw two bright gold eyes watching her, but Will, who stood behind her, just laughed.

"You're just upset because they never capture just how ugly your mug really is." He joked, and the voice laughed along with him.

"Yeah, but I'm still better looking than you, Will." The man who'd been talking stepped out of the shadows, and Gwen's jaw dropped.

He was a young man, looking twenty years old at the most, with short black hair and a lanky figure. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so his chest and back were visible. His skin was pale white, except around his back and the areas surrounding his face, which were bright red.

He didn't really have claws, but he did have two small horns poking out just behind his hairline. When he smiled, his teeth were normal, unless you counted how bright they were, but maybe that was just from his smile. He nudged Will's shoulder playfully before turning his eyes to the young agent, still staring at him.

"Who's she?"

Just remembering that Gwen was still standing there, Will threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to the man. "This is Agent Guinevere Smith, fresh out of the academy. She is going to be your new handler. Gwen, this is-"

"The DemonChild." She whispered, her eyes wide with surprise. The man winced at the name.

"Actually," Will corrected, "He doesn't like to be called that."

Gwen shook away her shock and gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry." She stammered. "I mean, I wouldn't want to be called something like that either, it's just that that's what they call you on the news and you're a demon and…"

The demon raised his hand up to calm her. "Agent Smith…"

"I mean, not that that's a bad thing or anything or that I'm calling you a demon if you're not…"

"Gwen!"

She stopped her prattle and blushed in embarrassment, but the two men just looked amused.

"It's fine, Gwen. You didn't know any better. But, for future reference, my name is Merlin."

Merlin held his hand out to her which she took gingerly, still unsure. If Merlin noticed, he didn't mention it as he turned to Will and crossed his arms.

"So, a new handler. You sick of me or something?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Borden says I'm too soft on you. Besides Merlin, you did escape four times on my watch. Not to mention two of those times you were seen and put on the news. "

Merlin turned away and pulled a black t-shirt off of the nearby dresser, obviously trying to avoid eye contact with Will. "I had to see him." He whispered as he pulled on the shirt. Will snorted.

"Of course you did." He muttered, turning back to Gwen. "This is very important Gwen, okay? Your job is to watch him. You go where he goes, you cover his back on missions, you keep him away from the public when you can and above all else, keep him safe. Don't let him out of your sight." Will looked Gwen in the eyes and she saw how serious he was. She gave him a quick nod and Will smiled.

"Okay, I'll leave you two to get acquainted." He went to leave, stopping for a second.

"Give him the candy." He whispered with a wink. She looked at the chocolate bars Gaius had given her still in her hand and gave him a confused frown, but Will gave her a quick thumbs up and walked out of the room, leaving them alone.

Both shifted uncomfortably for a few minutes. Gwen held the bars out to Merlin and smiled softly."Here, these are for you."

Merlin took them gratefully and ripped the foil back on one, gnawing into it like he hadn't eaten in days, reminding Gwen of a gerbil she'd owned when she was young that had eaten the same way. She stifled back a laugh at the memory, drawing Merlin's attention.

"What?"

"It's nothing." She said, waving her hand dismissively.

Merlin slowed down his chewing, looking down at the candy bar wrapper. "So, does this mean that Dad's back?" he asked, looking up at Gwen as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

Gwen frowned. "Dad?"

"Gaius."

She nodded.

"Is… is he still mad at me?"

"He didn't seem mad." She replied, flashing a reassuring smile, but Merlin didn't seem convinced. Gwen decided to change the subject.

"I met the others; Morgana and Gwaine. They are…interesting."

Merlin let out a laugh. "Yeah, that's definitely one way to describe them." He agreed. "Morgana is like the sister I never wanted and Gwaine… well, Gwaine is something else."

"I could tell." Gwen laughed, the awkwardness that had filled the room since Will left now dissolving.

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud siren echoing through the room, accompanied by a flashing red light and Merlin sighed.

"No rest for the wicked, I guess." He shrugged, motioning for Gwen to follow him as he walked out the door.

* * *

**Enroute to the Machen Library**

**5:12 PM**

Merlin looked out the large one-way mirror on the side of their mobile unit. Gwen and the other agents were in the trucks surrounding them, so it was just him, Morgana and Gwaine in the back putting on their locator belts. He snorted at all the people standing behind the police barricades.

"Look at them. I break this window, they see us. Happy Halloween." He muttered bitterly, laying a hand on the window. "All that's separating us from them is one sheet of glass."

Gwaine chuckled and patted him on the back. "Story of my life."

"Outside…" Merlin continued as though Gwaine hadn't said anything. "I could be outside…"

"You mean outside… _with him._ " Morgana said with a knowing smirk.

Merlin sneered at Morgana, turning to grab his tool belt of amulets, rosaries and horseshoes, along with some other helpful things. "Don't get psychic with me."

"Oh, there's nothing psychic about it." She snickered. "You're easy."

"Yeah, whatever." He grumbled, hooking the belt around his waist.

"Princess left us, Merls." Gwaine reminded him solemnly. "Nothing any of us can do about that."

"Well, maybe you two can accept that, but I can't. He's one of us."

"Merlin, he didn't want to be here. Take the hint." Morgana pleaded as she helped Gwaine into his respirator, which was a large circular tube that fitted around his neck and fed water to his gills. The truck jerked as it came to a halt inside the library's loading dock and Merlin sighed.

"We don't take hints."

* * *

**Machen Library**

**5:27 PM**

Gwen jumped out of her vehicle the moment it came to a stop and immediately headed towards the large mobile unit. Will got out of one of the cars behind her's and followed, pulling out his walkie-talkie to make everyone aware that 'the Falcon, the Fish and the Fay' were all coming in.

The two agents walked around to the back of the mobile unit, stepping away a few steps while the back hinged down like a drawbridge, revealing Merlin, Morgana and Gwaine standing by, ready.

"Everyone sync up your locator belts!" Will ordered, pushing a tiny red button on his walkie-talkie clip and signaling Gwen to do the same. The button began blinking with red light and Will nodded. "That means it's transmitting."

Merlin, Morgana and Gwaine each flipped a small switch on the belts they wore and three little green lights clicked on. "Synced up." Morgana called back, walking down the ramp to join the agents and looking back to see if Merlin and Gwaine were going to do the same, but they were too busy goofing around.

"I'm just saying, I don't get why we  _all_ have to wear the black long-sleeved shirts and pants." Gwaine was explaining to a thoughtful Merlin. "Do you know how hard it is to swim in these things?"

"Guys-"

"I think that they expect you to remove the shirt  _before_  you get in the water, Gwaine."

"Hey!" Morgana tried again, this time getting their attention. "The mission."

"Right." They both nodded, walking down the ramp where everyone else was standing. Gwen smiled at Merlin, who nodded his head in response, before looking behind her and letting out a groan.

Gwaine followed his line of sight and grimaced. "Look who the agent in charge is."

Will, Gwen and Morgana all turned to see a middle aged man, probably in his late thirties/early forties, with short dark hair and a ill-tempered look stalking over to them. "Alright, you three," he growled, staring down Merlin, Gwaine and Morgana. "I'm only saying this once, so listen. You are going to do your jobs and only your jobs. I don't want any funny business." He looked directly at Merlin, who smirked and quirked up his eyebrows. "Do we understand each other?"

"Whatever."

"I guess."

"Oh, shut it, Borden."

The agent gave Merlin another glare before turning to Gwen and holding out his hand. "Agent Julius Borden."

Gwen took the hand. "Agent Guinevere Smith."

"Pleasure. This way."

He led them through the loading dock into the lobby where the other agents were setting up a command center. "At nineteen hundred hours, an alarm tripped." Borden explained, pointing to a closed door on the other side of the room. "B&E. Robbery. Six guards dead."

"Wait a second." Merlin interrupted, furrowing his brow. "I thought we checked this place; all fakes and reproductions."

"Apparently not everything was a fake." Someone said behind them.

They turned to see Gaius entering the room with a thick, leather bound book tucked under his arm. Merlin widened his eyes in surprise before averting them to the floor like a guilty child.

"Father…" he whispered, suddenly finding his shoes the most interesting thing in the room. Everyone else shifted uncomfortably at the awkward silence until Gaius cleared his throat.

"Morgana, if you would?" He tilted his head towards the closed door and the dark haired girl nodded. Removing her gloves, she approached the door and gingerly placed her hand on the polished wood while everyone else got to work.

Taking a seat at the security desk, Gwen brought up the footage from the other room and gagged. The remains of the dead security guards were scattered around the floor in front of the camera, and behind them…

"Professor Wilson!"

Gaius and Merlin both rushed to her side to see what she'd found. A stone statue was lying in pieces around the dead guards.

"That was a 16th century Saint Dionysius the Aeropagite." Gaius observed. "My guess, it was smuggled into the country by an overzealous curator."

"Dionysius, who wards off demons. Look, it's hollowed out." Merlin pointed to the base of the statue which, sure enough, was empty. "A reliquary?"

"A prison." Gaius corrected. "The Vatican deemed its contents dangerous enough to include it on the List of Avignon. Of which we hold a copy."

Merlin walked away from the screens and over to Morgana, who took her hand off the door. "There's something evil in there." She said ominously. "A dark entity that's evil, ancient and is sure as hell hungry."

"Well, I'll send it your best." Merlin joked, pulling her away from the door and looking over at Gwaine. "Are you coming in with me?"

Gwaine responded with a dashing smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

The two approached the door and, giving everyone a reassuring nod, pushed it open and slipped inside.


	4. Hound of Resurrection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nope. Don't own. Don't sue.

**"Magyk Exhibition Hall" of the Machen Library**

**5:45 PM**

Merlin and Gwaine began to retch the second they walked in the door, the overwhelming odor from the dead guards hitting them full in the face.

"Ugh, that reeks." Merlin complained, covering his nose with his hand. "It almost smells as bad as you."

Gwaine groaned. "I'd try and think of a comeback, but that god-awful stench is just too distracting. There is no way that is just the dead bodies. It smells like fine aged roadkill."

They moved around the room carefully, keeping their eyes peeled for whatever was locked away in the statue. After a few minutes, Gwaine stopped suddenly and held out a hand for Merlin to do the same.

"Do you hear that?" he whispered, and Merlin listened closely, nodding in agreement and pointing to a section of ceiling on the left side of the hall. The cracking and slurping noise grew louder as they moved further to the left, until they saw it.

It was about the size of a grown man, with two well-muscled arms and what looked like powerful hind legs. On its head where tentacles, which hung around its face like hair, and where his mouth should have been was a gaping hole full of sharp teeth, with what looked like the leg of a security guard hanging out of it.

"Morgana." Merlin whispered. "What the hell is that thing?"

 _"I'm still looking. Give me a second."_ She replied through their earpieces. Gwaine and Merlin looked at each other and shrugged.

"Hey, Stinky!" Gwaine called, throwing a piece of the Dionysius statue at its head. "Kitchen's closed!"

The creature looked up at them and growled, crawling slowly across the rafter it was perched on.

 _"Merlin, I think I found something_.  _There's not much here: the entity's name is Sammael, the desolate one, son of Nergal –"_

The beast jumped down to the floor, forcing Gwaine and Merlin to scramble backwards. "Hold that thought, Morgana." Merlin cut her off, watching to see if the beast made any sudden movements.

"Hey, Sammy, why don't we try to work this out peacefully?" he asked, smiling widely at the monster. "I don't want to have to hurt you, but I will-" He leapt out of the way as Sammael pounced in their direction, missing him but knocking Gwaine full force into one of the columns.

"Gwaine!"

Sammael pounced after Merlin again, but this time he was ready. Holding his hand out in front of him, Merlin's eyes lit up and the beast was flung across the room, hitting one of the back walls in the process and breaking its neck. Merlin rushed to check on Gwaine and was relieved that he was still breathing and respirator was still intact, though he'd been knocked unconscious.

_"Merlin, you need to hear the rest of this."_

"It's alright, Morgana, I killed it but Gwaine's down."

_"Merlin, listen to me. It says 'Sammael, the desolate one, son of Nergal, hound of resurrection-"_

A loud crash sounded from across the room and Merlin turned to see the window at the back wall shattered and Sammael gone. "Shit." He cursed, now running to catch up with the beast. "It got away, Morgana, but I'm after it now."

_"Be careful, Merlin."_

Merlin jumped out the window after it, landing hard on the ground but not feeling the impact too much due to his powers and demon physiology. He found himself alone in a dark, black alley with no sign of Sammael. "Okay Morgana, how do I kill it when I find it?"

The girl was quiet for a few seconds.  _"Huh, it doesn't say."_

"That's helpful." He scoffed, searching for some indication of the hellhound.

"Child…" a female voice cooed from the other end of the alley.

Merlin whipped around to see a beautiful, dark-haired woman in a long, red dress smiling at him. "Look at you, after all these years. So grown up."

"That voice…" Merlin narrowed his eyes and took a small step back in confusion. "Do I know you?"

"Why, I sang you your first lullaby, my dear." The woman glided towards him until they were face-to-face, her eyes boring into his. She reached up and stroked his hair back from his forehead in a way that was probably intended to be seen as caring, but Merlin just found it disconcerting. "It was I who ushered you into this world, dear child. And it is I who knows your true purpose, your true calling," Her smile grew. "Your true name."

Merlin swallowed hard and stumbled away from the woman, shaking his head. "Who the hell are you?"

The woman took another step forward, but Merlin raised his hand to throw her back, only to get knocked aside by Sammael, who appeared from the shadows.

"I see you are still young and don't know your place yet." The woman smiled, fading back into the darkness of the alley. "Sammael will teach you."

"Wait, who are you?"

Merlin reached his hand out to stop her from getting away, but something long and disgusting wrapped around his arm, making the skin burn and pulling him away. Sammael yanked its head back, dragging Merlin with it until-

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Three loud shots fired into the alley, two hitting Sammael in the flank, causing it to rear up and release its hold on Merlin, who gagged when he realized the thing that had been wrapped around his arm was the hellhound's tongue.

Recovering quickly, Merlin rolled behind a nearby dumpster before Sammael could get its bearings back. Half a second later, the shooter ducked behind it with him.

"Gwen? What the hell are you doing out here?" Merlin demanded. Gwen rolled her eyes and held up her gun.

"It seemed like you needed back up after Gwaine went down, so I came out to help."

Merlin clenched his teeth so tight it hurt. "Are you insane? Bullets don't work on that thing, you have no experience fighting monsters; you could get yourself killed running out here!"

"Well it's a good thing I did, because if I hadn't you'd be puppy chow."

Merlin was going to argue, but he couldn't help agreeing with her logic. "Okay, if you want to help load this into your gun." He pulled a bullet with a small, blinking light out of one of the pouches on his belt. "It's a tracking bullet. If you can get it into the hellhound, I can find it if it tries to run again."

Gwen nodded and loaded the bullet into her sidearm. Merlin took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to look to see where it is, and when I say 'now', turn and shoot."

Merlin peeked out slowly from behind the dumpster, scanning the area for the beast when, out of nowhere, Sammael sprung at the dumpster, pushing it back against the alley wall and slamming Merlin and Gwen against the building, causing the agent to dropping the gun.

Merlin shook the pain from his head and picked the weapon off the ground, aiming it at the backside of the monster as it retreated out of the alley and pulled the trigger, hitting his mark. Jumping up, he chased the hellhound into the streets, ignoring the looks he received from the random civilians he passed.

Gwen, who'd blacked out for a few seconds from the impact with the wall, let out a small moan, bringing her hand to her head and flinching when she touched a large purple bruise that was beginning to form.

"What the hell –Merlin!" Her head shot up and she scanned the alley for the demon, cursing when she caught sight of him turning a corner onto a populated street.

"This is Agent Smith." She said into her earpiece as she stumbled to her feet and ran after her charge. "Monster is entering a civilian zone with Falcon in pursuit. I am moving to catch up now."

Sprinting into the street, she paused to look for a sign of Merlin. A loud honking took her by surprise, and she turned to see a semi speeding down the road. Not having enough time to move, she braced herself for impact, squeezing her eyes shut and covering her head with her hands.

Suddenly, two thin arms grabbed her waist and she felt a strong wind whip around her. She opened her eyes and gasped, realizing that she was now standing on the other side of the road with Merlin's arms still wrapped around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, now holding her for support out of fear she might collapse from shock.

Hesitantly, Gwen nodded. "Yes."

Spotting Sammael, Merlin hurriedly sat Gwen on a nearby bench. "Now, stay here." He ordered before continuing his chase with the hellhound.

* * *

**An Alleyway Two Blocks Away**

**6:12 PM**

"Here doggy, doggy, doggy." Merlin called, following the tracking signal into another alleyway a few blocks from the library. Spying an open metal grate in the ground, he grinned. "Gotcha."

Merlin slid carefully through the grate, using his magic to break his fall as he landed in an underground tunnel about twenty feet down. Sammael sat on its haunches only a few feet away from the opening.

Merlin furrowed his brow. "Were you waiting for me?"

The hellhound made an odd noise that sounded like a cross between a gurgle and a chuckle when a blinding light appeared behind the demon. Merlin groaned, figuring out why there would be a tunnel underneath an alleyway and peered over his shoulder to see an approaching subway train. He was about to run away, but Sammael had other ideas, suddenly sprinting towards the train and crashing through the windshield. Merlin watched as the hellhound dove through the cars, jumping over seats and throwing commuters out of his way, before popping out the back of the train, relatively unharmed.

Merlin was run over by the train.

"Ow… Damn… Shit… Ah... Ow!" he cried as the train rumbled over him, the metal underbelly hitting and scraping against him. When the train finally passed, Merlin sat up stiffly and groaned. "I'm feeling that in the morning."

He stood up and stretched, already planning to take a hot shower when he got home when a glop of something blue and wet plopped onto his shoulder. "Damn, I forgot." He whispered, looking up to see Sammael perched on one of the support beams.

The hellhound dropped down to the tracks and roared, tackling Merlin to the ground and pinning him against the tracks. Merlin struggled to free himself, to do something as Sammael opened his mouth over his face, and his eyes fell on the third rail, mere inches away from his right hand.

"Hey Sammy."

The beast looked down at the demon, now smiling up at it smugly.

"Screw you." And with that, Merlin's hand gripped the rail, sending a strong electric charge through his and the hellhound's bodies. Sammael twitched and jerked as smoke rose from his back, and within a minute, the hound fell away burnt to a crisp. Merlin released the rail and sighed, standing up and staring over the charred remains of the monster.

"I'm fire-proof. You're not." He spat.

Realizing that he was alone, with no agents around to stop him, he turned away from the direction of the library and followed the tunnel down to the outskirts of town.

"Gwen?"

A relieved sigh came from his earpiece.  _"Merlin, are you alright?"_

"I'm fine, Gwen. How's your head?"

_"Bleeding, but fine. What happened? Where are you?"_

"Sammael is smoked. Tell Dad that I'm okay and that I'll be home, but not to wait up."

_"What? Merlin, no. You can't just… I have to go with you!"_

Merlin chuckled and flipped off the locator on his belt. "It's fine, Gwen. I did my job and now I'm taking a break. Relax."

_"Merlin, you can't run off. Please, just tell me where you are and-"_

"Gwen?"

_"Yes, Merlin?"_

"Bye." Merlin removed the earpiece and threw it to the ground, continuing down his familiar path to the hospital.

* * *

**Machen Library Lobby**

**6:09 PM**

Gwen rushed out the door the minute she heard Merlin in trouble, leaving Morgana, Borden and Gaius alone while the other agents carried Gwaine's unconscious body from the exhibition hall and tended to him. The three entered the hall, grimacing at the dead guards that were being removed from the floor, and began examining the crime scene. Borden shook his head at the broken window across the room.

"He's going to be seen." He snapped, whipping his head around to Gaius. "He is outside, running through a populated area… some geek with a camera phone is going to snap a picture of him or shoot a video and post it on YouTube, and then the media is going to come asking questions, and I'm the one they're going to be asking. I'm running out of lies, Gaius."

"I thought you enjoyed being on television." Gaius jested. Borden frowned at the old man, who sighed. "He's doing his job, Julius."

"You know what I'm talking about, Gaius. He's escaped four times this year. FOUR."

"He's going through a phase. He's a young man, and besides he's not a prisoner. He's our guest."

"A phase?" Borden snorted. "Gaius, these freaks-"

Morgana stood up from where she was crouched on the floor and glared at the agent, who lowered his voice significantly.

"Look, I'm not going to sugar-coat it, they make people uncomfortable. Your little petting zoo is up for review soon, and the constant escapes and public appearances your demonic 'guest' keeps making don't look good and are going to get us shutdown."

Morgana, who didn't need to listen in on Borden and Gaius to know what they were talking about, bit her lip. A.L.B.I.O.N was the only home she'd ever really had, the only home any of them had really had. If the government pulled the plug, what was going to happen to them?

She pushed those thoughts away for later as she bent down to touch a sharp dagger that had been embedded in the floor.

"Hey, Tinkerbell! Don't touch anything!" Borden called from the other side of the room. She rolled her eyes.

"I have to touch it to see whatever needs to be seen." She shot back, eyes throwing daggers in his direction. "The past, the future, whatever importance this object has."

Looking back at the dagger, she laid a hand on it, squeezing her eyes shut as she concentrated.

"Is she serious?" she heard him ask Gaius, but she was focused on the dagger and what it was trying to tell her.

"Gaius, they were over here." Morgana felt her mentor kneel next to her and she opened her eyes. As Gaius pulled the dagger from the wood floor and examined it, Morgana noticed the symbol of Ragnarok on the hilt, along with a dragon and swastika.

"Ooh, who was here? Houdini? Nixon? The Backstreet Boys? Mind sharing your insight with us, Alison Dubois?" Borden said sarcastically, but Gaius and Morgana both ignored him, instead focusing on the dagger.

"Show me, Morgana." Gaius requested, holding a wrinkled hand out to her. She took it in her own and the two stood up, their minds taken back to before the break in.

* * *

**"Magyk" Exhibition Hall- Machen Library**

**5:02 PM**

A guard walked over to the alarm unit in the wall, inputting the code. The small lights flashed green and the guard moved on to the next room, only stopping when he heard a small tick coming from the far corner. He shined his light over in the direction of the sound and, seeing nothing, continued to move on.

Once the guard had vanished, a man wearing a gas mask and holding two long blades emerged from the shadowy corner, followed closely by a burly man with short brown hair carrying a hammer. The two moved with a purpose towards the statue of Saint Dionysius the Aeropagite, enclosed in a glass case.

Myror placed a hand on the glass, thinking of ways to open it without tripping the alarm when-

"Move."

He stepped aside as Valiant used the hammer to bust out the glass, setting off every alarm in the building. Myror made quick work of slicing the statue open, his blades strong enough to cut through even the most resilient of things. Valiant gently reached into the hollow base, pulling out a golden reliquary jar.

"Freeze!" a guard called, his gun pulled. Five more joined him, surrounding the two men and slowly moving in. Barely acknowledging the guards' presence, Valiant peered over his shoulder at Myror.

"Kill them."

Myror raised his blades and in no time at all, the six guards lay dead on the floor.

"Very well done, my dears." Nimueh praised, slinking out of the shadows. Valiant faced his mistress and bowed, holding the jar out to her. Nimueh ran a finger lovingly through the man's hair before accepting it from his hands.

"Salt," She said, opening the reliquary and pouring sand from it onto the floor "Gathered from the tears of a thousand martyrs, restraining the essence of Sammael, the hellhound, seed of destruction."

Her eyes lit up like fire and the sand began to shift, swirling and clinging together until a huge hellhound stood before the witch.

"This I can promise you, Sammael." Nimueh whispered, taking a step forwards and laying a hand on the beast's head. "For every one of you that's slain, two more will take its place."

* * *

**"Magyk" Exhibition Hall- Machen Library**

**6:15 PM**

Gaius released Morgana's hand, pale and looking years older than he ever had. He stumbled backwards a few steps and Borden, who'd been watching the whole time with curiosity, leapt forward and caught him before he fell.

"Gaius? Morgana asked worriedly, placing a hand on his and withdrawing back quickly. "Oh my god, Gaius."

The old professor gave Morgana a look she interpreted as:  _Not in front of Borden._

"What?" the agent looked between Morgana and Gaius, wondering what the exchange of looks meant, but Morgana grabbed Gaius from his grasp and thanked him before leading the old man over to a nearby chair to sit.

When she was sure no one was listening, she looked at him with concern. "Gaius, you're very sick. You're dying. Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Please, don't tell Merlin." The professor begged, taking Morgana's hand in his. "I don't want him to worry about me, especially now." His tone grew grave and Morgana felt herself being pulled into his thoughts as he spoke.

"Sixty-eight years ago, Morgana, Nimueh and her followers tried to destroy the world."

_The image of a young Gaius facing down Nimueh and Myror in the center of old ruins flew into her mind._

"And now they're back –in my lifetime they are back– to finish the job."

_Images of a world gone to hell passed through Morgana's mind, followed by a picture of Merlin._

Morgana frowned. "Gaius, what does Merlin have to do with it?"

_The memory of Merlin's discovery by Gaius played in her head, and was soon replaced by a gruesome scenario of a post-apocalyptic Earth with Merlin sitting in the center of it, head hung low and tears flowing down his face._

Morgana gasped and let go of Gaius, who simply nodded. "Nimueh is going to come after him and I fear to think what terrible purpose she holds for him."

The dark haired psychic bit back tears and threw her arms around the neck of the man who'd been a father figure to her all these years. "I won't let anything happen, Gaius." She swore. "Me, Gwaine, Gwen, Will, even Borden. We'll all protect him."

Suddenly, Gwen came rushing into the room with Gwaine, conscious and apparently unharmed apart from the lump on his head, close on her heels. Morgana and Gaius both jumped up and rushed to meet them.

"What happened? Where's Merlin?" Morgana demanded, fearing the worse after what she'd just been told.

"I don't know." Gwen answered, shaking with panic. "We were separated and when I got back in contact with him, he told me that he'd killed the hellhound and that he was okay, but then he turned off his locater belt and ran. He's gone."


	5. Arthur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own. You don't sue.

**Patient Common Area- Camelot Mental Hospital**

**7:32 PM**

 

Three…two…one.

 

The security officer turned to see another officer trudging through the snow to take his place at the gate.

"Right on schedule." Arthur grinned, watching from his seat in the common area.

Everyone knew that the gate really didn't need a guard. It was thirty feet high with barbed wire lining the top; he'd even heard from some patients that the guards electrified it, but around an asylum you learn to take theories with a grain of salt. But having a guard put some people's minds at ease, so there they stood, day and night.

The blond shook his head as he turned away from the window and returned to his book, which he was suddenly having a hard time focusing on.

His father, Uther Penn, the head of the hospital, said that the security measures were there for the patients' protection, but he knew better. He knew that the patients were prisoners, which is why there were two inch thick bars on every window in the building, no one was allowed to go leave the building unless they were going to the outer garden, and the doctors kept the patients constantly drugged up so none of them could ever think straight enough to even consider leaving.

Of course, Arthur knew that if he really wanted to, he could easily break out. None of those minimum-wage, mall cop rejects would be able to stop him.

The power under his skin begged him to be released, begged for him to set it free. He thought about how he easy it would be just to let go…But he didn't.

Because, believe it or not, he wanted to be here; he'd chose to stay. After all the damage he'd done, all the people he'd hurt, all the times he'd lost control because the ones he cared about were in danger, only to put them in  _more_ danger…

No.

His father was right. He was dangerous, and obviously being around  _him_ hadn't helped. He pushed away his thoughts of A.L.B.I.O.N, and returned to thinking about the hospital's ridiculous security. To think, people on the outside actually believed that it was there to keep people out. He snorted aloud at the thought. After all, who'd want to break into an asylum?

"Doctor, look!" Alice, a schizophrenic older woman sitting across the common area, called and pointed out the window. "There's a red man outside!"

Arthur's head popped up from his book.

 _Not again._  He thought, his eyes following the woman's finger to a section of the outer wall.

If he hadn't known what to look for, he wouldn't have seen the pair of bright gold eyes looking around from the shadow of the gate before quickly disappearing towards the outer gardens. He could vaguely hear one of the doctors laughing at Alice's rant about the 'red man', telling her that "Santa's not here for another month" and ignoring her protests about it not being Santa, it was a demon man. Arthur stood up as calmly as he could and began walking over towards the entrance to the gardens and telling another doctor that he needed some fresh air.

Most of the plants died after the first frost, making the garden feel more like a graveyard than anything, especially with the oversized angel statues littered randomly amongst the rose bushes. Arthur glanced around, looking for a glint of gold, when suddenly a thin, red arm stuck out from behind one of the angels.

"I brought doughnuts." The owner of the arm called, and Arthur saw a bag of Sweet Sixteen's clutched in the hand. "And beer."

Merlin shyly poked his head out from behind the column and Arthur let out a small laugh.

* * *

**Outer Gardens- Camelot Mental Hospital**

**7:49 PM**

"Back so soon?" Arthur kid half-heartedly, plopping a doughnut into his mouth. They sat on the stone bench that was closest to the back entrance and the farthest away from the building, giving Merlin a quick escape if he needed it as well as avoiding prying eyes. They both knew Merlin wasn't supposed to be there, and if Uther found out he was… It didn't bear thinking about.

"I wanted to see you." he replied, smiling sadly. "I… we miss you. Back at A.L.B.I.O.N. It's not the same."

Arthur nodded silently, reaching over to take a beer from the six-pack between them.

"Gwaine's driving us all nuts," Merlin continued, reaching to get a beer for himself and wincing in pain. "Gaius is still mad at me, Morgana is…Morgana…."

"What's that?" Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm and turned it over to reveal a deep, bloody gash. "My god, Merlin. What happened?"

Merlin glanced down at it and shrugged. "Got in a fight with a hellhound. It's just a scratch."

Arthur released his arm with a frown. "You need to get it looked at."

"Wouldn't have happened if you'd been there." Merlin muttered bitterly, yanking his sleeve back down and looking away.

Arthur rolled his eyes in annoyance and lightly punched him in the arm. "You know why I can't leave, idiot."

Merlin hit back. "Prat."

They both smiled at each other for a split second, leaning in closer and closer until Arthur pulled back, not daring to look back at the dark haired demon. Holding his hand out in front of him, he concentrated on the heat building up under his skin, seeing Merlin's look of awe out of the corner of his eye when small blue flames began to dance on his hand. As he closed his fist, the flames grew gradually until his fist was clenched all the way, the fire now surrounding his entire hand, but only his hand.

"I'm learning where it comes from, how to control it. I haven't had an episode in months. For the first time in my life… I'm not afraid of it."

He opened his hand and the flames went out, leaving no mark that they were ever there. He rested it on his knee and found himself staring at Merlin again. The demon looked back with a small smile that made his heart ache and reached his hand over to hold his. "Arthur-"

With every ounce of self-control he had, Arthur snatched his hand away and stood up, trying to put as much room as he could between them.

"I can't do this anymore, Merlin. I have a chance out here. It's not fair, to either of us." He sighed, watching as a squad of black cars surrounded the back entrance of the hospital. "Your ride's here."

Merlin looked and clicked his tongue when Gaius, Borden and a beautiful dark-skinned agent Arthur didn't recognize climbed out of one of the vehicles. "The Nanny Squad…"

While Merlin was looking away, Arthur turned and began to walk back towards the hospital, looking back despite himself when the demon called his name.

"Arthur…"

He saw Merlin rise to chase after him, suddenly collapsing into the snow the second he lost the support of the bench. The female agent started running towards where the demon was on the ground, but Merlin's eyes were firmly fixed on him.

Arthur forced himself to look away. "I'm sorry, Merlin. But please, if you really do care about me, don't come back here again."

He turned away quickly, brushing away a tear that was sliding down his cheek.

* * *

**FBI Vehicle- Enroute to Camelot Mental Hospital**

**7:43 PM**

Gwen had thrown herself into a mad panic after Merlin flipped off his locator belt, sprinting frantically to where Gaius and the others were waiting and explaining what happened. She'd expected them to act more worried, or at least mildly concerned, about the fact that six foot tall bright red demon was god knows where, but the most she got was exasperated looks. In fact, if anything, Morgana and Gaius seemed more relaxed.

Gwaine, who was holding an ice pack against the freshly formed lump on his head, was finding the entire situation amusing and even started laughing, while Morgana rolled her eyes, muttering about what a 'lovesick moron' Merlin was being and Gaius…

Gaius just stood by quietly, nodding calmly while she told her story with a knowing look on his face, only speaking when Borden pulled out his walkie-talkie to call a city-wide search. "I don't believe that will be necessary, Agent Borden."

"With all due respect, Professor, I don't give a damn what you believe. I've got a government funded monster running loose around town, and the last thing any of us need is another 'DemonChild' sighting."

"I think what Gaius means is we already know where he is." Gwaine spoke up, breathless from his laughter.

Borden narrowed his eyes in confusion for a few seconds before sighing in realization. "All agents into your vehicles!" He ordered. "We're moving out to Camelot Mental in five! You two," he rounded on Gwaine and Morgana. "Get in your truck. You're going back to base. The last thing we need is either of you getting any ideas about running."

Both opened their mouths to protest, but were silenced by a look from Gaius and climbed back into the mobile unit, sticking their tongues out at the annoying agent as they did.

Borden turned to Gwen now, who looked worried that he might send her back too.

"You're his handler, you ride with me and Gaius."

So now, she was sitting awkwardly in the backseat of a black SUV with Borden and Gaius in the front seat, discussing the quickest route to get to their destination. After deciding to take the highway, Gaius turned around in his seat and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, my dear. Merlin has escaped from more experienced and better trained agents before, probably with less difficulty." He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to the young agent, dropping it into her hand. She opened her hand and saw that it was a wooden rosary. She put it around her neck and gave him a grateful smile but the gift didn't settle the knot that had been tightening in her stomach since Merlin's disappearance. If anything happened to him, it was her fault. She squeezed the rosary tightly in her hand, praying silently that everything would be fine.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence in the car, she decided to ask the question that had been eating her up.

"Why a mental hospital? How did you know he'd go there?"

Gaius and Borden shared a look before Gaius cleared his throat. "An old friend of ours is a patient there." He answered simply.

"They were close? This… _friend_  and Merlin?"

Gaius smiled nostalgically. "Yes, they were. This friend- Arthur's his name- came to us when he was a young boy after a rather unfortunate accident that claimed his mother's life. He is a pyrokinetic; he has the ability to start fires with his mind. We tried to help him, to show him that there was nothing wrong with being different, but he had troubles with controlling it, especially when certain- _rather strong_ \- emotions were triggered. Being fire-proof, Merlin could approach Arthur during his episodes and calm him down, which lead to the two developing a close bond.

"Then, about eighteen months ago, there was an incident during a mission. From what I understand, Merlin was injured and Arthur lost control, destroying the beast they were fighting, but he also killed four agents in the process and nearly took Gwaine and Morgana out too."

Gwen's eyes widened at this and Gaius sighed. "After that, he slumped into a depression, refusing to see anyone -including Merlin, which hurt him tremendously. A few months later, he began meeting with his father, Uther, who runs the mental hospital. Uther tried to convince Arthur that it would be in everyone's best interest if he committed himself and, after a few visits, Arthur agreed to go despite Merlin's pleas for him to stay. That was in February, and since then, whenever the opportunity presented itself, Merlin has snuck away to see him, trying to persuade him to come home."

"And since then, he's been more of a pain in my ass than usual." Borden grumbled, coming to a stop at the back of an old brick building with large, barred windows that made Gwen think of a prison more than a hospital.

Through the gate, she could see two people sitting on a bench talking. One she quickly recognized as Merlin, the other was a broader built man with short blond hair and tan skin (at least for someone who'd been locked in a mental hospital for the past nine months). Merlin seemed to be reaching out to hold the other man (who Gwen could only assume was Arthur)'s hand. Arthur stood up to leave as she, Borden and Gaius climbed out of their vehicle. Borden moved to confront Merlin, but she threw her hand out to stop him.

"Sir, I would like to go first. I am his handler, it's my job."

Borden looked like he was going to argue, but Gaius quickly jumped to her defense. "They have to build a relationship if this is going to work out." He stated, giving her the okay to proceed.

Gwen began shuffling over through the snow, watching as Arthur walked away and Merlin stood up to go after him. Suddenly, Merlin's legs gave out under him and he crumbled to the ground, too weak to stand up.

"Merlin!" She called, rushing to his side. His eyes were fluttering closed, but they were still fixed on the blond walking back into the hospital. Gwen grabbed his arm and threw it over her shoulder, lifting him out of the snow.

"Hey, Gwen." He mumbled weakly, only now acknowledging her presence. "What took you so long?"

Gwen noticed the scratch on his arm and grimaced. "Come on, Merlin. We need to get you home so we can tape you up."

"This?" He cast a look at the wound and snorted. "This is nothing. Do you know what'll kill me? Him."

He looked back to the doorway of the hospital, where Arthur was now standing, making sure that Merlin made it out alright. "Arthur Penn… will be the death of me." He whispered, Will rushing over to help Gwen get Merlin to the car.

* * *

**A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters- Medical Bay A**

**9:36 PM**

"Looks like you were burned by some kind of organic acid." Morgana observed, lowering her magnifying glass closer to Merlin's arm.

Merlin blanched at the memory of the hellhounds tongue touching his skin. "Guess I'm just lucky that way." Morgana ignored him and began prodding around the gash, frowning curiously.

"Gwaine, hand me the scalpel." She ordered.

Gwaine, who rushed in the moment he had heard Merlin almost passed out in front of the mental hospital, nodded in affirmation and handed the small knife over to her.

"What is it?" he asked, leaning in for a better look. Morgana poked the skin lightly with the instrument and Merlin hissed in pain.

"How is he?" Gaius asked, entering the medical bay. Merlin opened his mouth to reassure him that he was fine, but Morgana picked that moment to poke his skin again, and instead he let out a loud grunt of pain.

"As far as I can tell, he'll live." Morgana replied. "But there's something in here."

Gaius looked at his son's face, showing him something Merlin thought he would never see on the man's face –fear.

"Son, about Nimueh…"

Merlin missed the way Morgana's head perked up at the mention of the woman, but Gwaine didn't. He met her gaze and shot her a questioning look. She moved her eyes towards Merlin and shook her head slightly, and he understood.  _Not in front of Merlin._

"Don't worry, I can handle her." Merlin smiled, oblivious to the feeling of dread that had now fallen over the room. Morgana went back to digging out whatever was in Merlin's arm while the two talked.

"Listen to me, Merlin!" Gaius interjected. "I worry about you. This time it's different. There is so much more at stake than you know."

"Gaius, you don't have to -Ow! - worry. How –OW! - hard can it be to stop her?"

Gaius hung his head with a sigh. "Merlin, I –"

"Gaius…" Morgana called, her scalpel deep into Merlin's arm. "You're going to want to see this."

"What?" Merlin turned his head to see, but Gaius motioned for Gwaine to stop him.

"Don't look, Merlin." He ordered, moving to stand by Morgana, who shifted her hand to give him a better look.

"My god!" Gaius exclaimed. "Are those-?"

"Eggs." Morgana confirmed. "Gwaine, hand me the tongs."

Reaching the instrument deep into Merlin's skin, she grasped a small transparent orb and yanked it out quickly.

"OW! DAMN IT, MORGANA. BE CAREFUL!" Merlin howled, his head still turned away.

"Men are babies." She muttered, pulling two more orbs from his arm. "Merlin, how long was that thing attached to you?"

"I don't know, like five seconds." Merlin shrugged, turning his head to see what they fished out of his arm.

Morgana let out a low whistle. "Five seconds, yet it managed to lay three eggs in you."

"Didn't even buy you dinner first." Gwaine commented, laughing at his own joke.

Merlin glared back. "Not funny, fishstick."

While Morgana took the eggs over to the computer to analyze them, Gwaine and Gaius wrap Merlin's arm up, along with the other injuries he'd received in the fight.

A few minutes later, the computer began beeping loudly and Morgana frowned.

"According to this, the eggs are sensitive to light and heat, needing dark, humid places to survive." Morgana explained handing one of the eggs over for them to see.

Gwaine looked down at Merlin. "Did you ever lose track of that thing down in the subway?"

Everyone stared at the demon, who pursed his lips in thought. "Well, I may have when I had a train on my head." He responded sarcastically.

Gaius shook his head. "We can't risk it. You three have to go down there tomorrow and search the entire area, top to bottom." He quickly left the medical bay, ignoring their groans of protest.

* * *

**Professor Gaius Wilson's Library/Gwaine's tank- A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters**

**10:01 PM**

"I'm in way over my head." Gwen insisted, following Gaius around as he searched the shelves for a book. Morgana sat at the table near the door, pretending to be interested in a large book on alchemy, but both Gaius and Gwen could tell she was really just sitting there to eavesdrop, especially since the book she was holding was upside down.

"I am not qualified for this. One day I've spent on this job, and already I've been beat, bludgeoned, almost hit by a truck, almost eaten by a hellhound, not to mention that the person I'm supposed to be watching was not only almost died, but ran off on my watch."

"You're doing fine, Gwen." Gaius assured, finding whatever book he was looking for and carrying it back to his desk. "Really, I think that you're being too hard on yourself."

The agent ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. "No, I really cannot do this, Gaius. I don't know why you chose me for this job, but you chose wrong. Will can do it, he's been doing just fine and he and Merlin are already good friends."

She hung her head with a sigh. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful or rude but this is just not for me. I'm sorry." She turned and walked away towards the exit.

"I'm dying, Guinevere."

Gaius' voice was barely above a whisper, but it echoed through the library as easily as if he'd shouted it. Gwen stopped in her tracks and looked back to see him sitting back in his chair, suddenly looking as though he'd aged fifty years. "As a father, I worry about my Merlin, especially with what is happening now."

Gwen slowly ambled back up to the desk, her face filled with concern and understanding.

A small grin grew on the old professor's face."In stories, there's often a young hero who, though inexperienced, is pure of heart."

Gwen chuckled lightly and shook her head. "I am not pure of heart."

"Yes, you are." Morgana called from her seat, no longer pretending to read. She watched the rest of the conversation intently.

"All I ask of you, Guinevere, is to have the courage to stand by my son's side when I am gone. Help him find himself." Gaius sat up and leaned across his desk. "He may have been born a Demon but –with your help- maybe he can learn what it is to be a man."

* * *

**Room of Patient 101183: Arthur Penn- Camelot Mental Hospital**

**12:30 AM**

Daegal, one of the younger orderlies, shined his light around Arthur's room, checking behind the door and even taking a quick peek under the bed before he was satisfied that everything was in order and left, closing the door tightly behind him.

Nimueh, now emerging from the shadows by the bed, smirked and glided to the man's bedside, stroking back a piece of blond hair from his forehead. Arthur shifted in his sleep, sensing someone near him but not waking and Nimueh leaned in close over his face.

"My master calls your name now, Arthur Penn." She whispered, her mouth ghosting over his cheek to his forehead. "We are all a part of his plan. You must return to the child, so you must once again dream…" she pressed her lips to his forehead, leaving a faint glow when she drew back. "…of fire."

_Arthur sat on the park bench, no more than five years old, watching as the other kids chased each other around the playground, playing tag and kicking footballs around to each other. His mother, Ygraine, sat beside him, caressing his hair in that loving way that mothers do._

_"Why don't you go play with the other children?" she asked, giving him a small push on the back._

_Arthur shook his head and laid a hand on the metal cross that hung around his neck. "None of the other kids like me. They think I'm a freak."_

_"I'm sure that's not true, Arthur." Ygraine replied, kissing his head. "Now, go and play."_

_Reluctantly, Arthur stood up, running off to play on the swings. He was actually having fun and doing pretty well, until-_

_"Hey, freak!" Arthur looked up to see three older kids bouncing over to him, vicious smirks on their faces. Arthur knew what was coming next and jumped off of the swing, heading back towards his mother._

_"Freak!" The voice called again, much closer this time, but Arthur began to run, seeing his mother across the park, reading a book. Suddenly, he was on the ground, being held down by two of the kids and beat on by the other. That's when the flames erupted._

_The kids let go and jumped back the moment Arthur's skin began growing hot, and began backing away when the flames crawled up his skin, engulfing his whole body._

_"Help me." He begged, unable to fathom how he had caused the flames or why they weren't burning him, but knowing that fire was bad. It was dangerous and he wanted it off. "Please. Someone help me!"_

_Ygraine looked up at the sound of her child yelling and screamed at the blue flames surrounding his body. Arthur turned and began to cry._

_"Mommy, please help me!"_

_A wave of terror filled the child's stomach and the flames suddenly exploded out of his body, spreading across the entire city block and killing everyone they touched, except for the small, blond five year old rescue workers would find curled up in the middle of the demolition , physically unscathed._

Arthur tossed in his sleep, feeling the underneath of his skin warm up, the fire itching to be released.

 

_Not long after that, he'd been brought into a children's psychiatric clinic for counseling. The doctor, a scary old man called Dr. Aredian, was sitting behind the desk across from Arthur, holding up pictures and asking him to tell him what they made him think of. Arthur was getting tired of answering, tired of being there, but the man kept on._

_"What does this make you think of, Arthur?"_

_"What do you see in this picture, Arthur?"_

_"What about this one, Arthur?"_

_The questions grated against the five year old's mind, and he felt himself getting annoyed at the constant questions, the constant pushing, until they came to a picture of a park and the flames exploded out of him once again, taking over the office and destroying the entire corner of the building._

The flames pushed against Arthur's skin with more force, and he was finding it harder and harder to keep them at bay as he dreamt of the fear, the anger he'd felt those times he'd lost control. He felt a new emotion hit him hard, weakening his barrier, as a newer memory took over his nightmare.

 

_The beast was fast, faster than anything any of them had faced before. Arthur grabbed Merlin's hand, gripping it tight as they scanned the room for it. Morgana and Gwaine, who stood on the landing of the staircase above them, called down to ask if they saw it. Just as Merlin shouted that they hadn't, his feet were pulled out from under him and he was dragged backwards._

_"Merlin!" Arthur screamed as he dove to grab the demon's hand and missed it by inches. Merlin turned onto his back and kicked the thing in the face, making it release its hold on his leg. Arthur grabbed Merlin in his arms and sighed in relief, when the beast jumped out again, grabbing Merlin's whole body this time and throwing him like he was a doll. A sickening crack sounded as his body made impact with the wall, and slammed to the ground, limp and lifeless looking._

_Arthur stared down in horror at the boy he'd grown to love more than anything else, lying on the ground, unmoving, possibly dead, and he felt a strong wave of hatred, towards the beast for hurting Merlin, towards A.L.B.I.O.N for sending them in there in the first place, and towards himself for not protecting him, flow through his body, powering the flames as they left his skin._

_Morgana and Gwaine looked down from the landing and watched in terror while the flames on Arthur's body grew bigger and bigger, and the room got hotter and hotter. Morgana grabbed Gwaine's arm and pulled him away from the edge, spotting an old gun safe and throwing them both inside just as Arthur lost complete control, decimating the entire building and killing the four agents in the next room._

Suddenly, Arthur's eyes flew open and the flames exploded from of his body, enveloping the whole room, then the whole hall, and finally taking over the entire wing of the hospital.


	6. The Plan in Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.

**Merlin's room- A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters**

**November 1st- 8:32 AM**

"How many buildings does that prat need to blow up before he realizes that he belongs here?" Merlin yelled, throwing his arms in anger.

Gaius, who had just finished telling him about the explosion at Camelot Mental the night before, sat on the edge of his son's bed and raised an eyebrow. "Arthur obviously doesn't believe that; he may never believe that."

Merlin groaned and laid his head against the wall in exasperation. Gwen stood in the doorway with Morgana, watching the exchange with interest. Summoning up some courage, she stepped forward and cleared her throat, but neither Gaius nor Merlin heard.

"It's not your choice to make, Merlin." Gaius continued. "It's his. He's human."

Merlin raised his head off the wall and faced his father, arms now crossed angrily in front of his chest. "As opposed to?"

Gwen cleared her throat again, but still neither acknowledged her, instead staring each other down in a battle of wills.

"Hey!"

Both men turned at Morgana's voice to see her glaring them both down, hands placed firmly on her hips. "Gwen is trying to say something."

Gwen glanced back at the dark-haired girl, who gave her an encouraging nod, before looking back at Merlin and Gaius.

"Well, I was thinking about the boy from the hospital…um… Arthur." She cleared her throat again nervously before continuing. "Well, I was thinking that I could help… maybe go by the hospital and convince him to come back."

The room was silent for a minute and Merlin suddenly narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean? I mean, no offense but we've known Arthur for years and haven't been able to convince him to come back. What makes you think that you could?"

"Well, before I worked here, I was in hostage negotiations." She responded, smiling when Merlin's face lit up with joy.

* * *

**Maximum Security Wing-Camelot Mental Hospital**

**10:34 AM**

Gwen looked through the window into the small padded cell where a young, handsome blond man she recognized as Arthur Penn sat on a metal bench, staring quietly at the wall in front of him. The doctor next to her, a kind woman named Annis, watched him sadly before turning to face the FBI agent.

"He's been like this since the accident." She sighed, shaking her head. "There were no casualties, thank god, but he hasn't responded to anyone. His father hasn't come to see him, and I suspect that even if he did, Arthur wouldn't talk. He just…sits there." She paused. "Are you sure that you want to go in?"

Gwen nodded and a few minutes later she was standing in the cell with Arthur, who didn't even acknowledge her presence. "Arthur Penn?" she whispered, sitting beside him on the bench. "My name is Agent Smith, I'm with the FBI."

He didn't move or respond and she continued. "Arthur –can I call you Arthur or…?"

"I don't care." He replied, slowly and monotone, still not taking his eyes off the wall. "As long as you don't make any King Arthur jokes."

Gwen laughed quietly. "My first name is Guinevere, so I really wouldn't have much room to talk, would I?"

Arthur glanced over at her and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I guess not."

"Gaius asked me to invite you back to the Bureau. No security, no special precautions, just you and me riding in a taxi."

Arthur turned all the way to face her and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Gwen smiled back and shrugged. "But it's entirely your choice, Arthur. No one will make it for you."

The blond bit his lip in thought and looked back at the window, which was reflected on this side but he knew that Dr. Annis was watching from the other side. Facing Gwen again, he smiled.

"You and me in a taxi?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Just like normal people do."

Arthur paused for a second before nodding in agreement. "As long as you're paying the fare."

* * *

**The Subway Tunnels under the City**

**10:45 AM**

"Tell me something, Merls." Gwaine said as he, Morgana and Merlin led Will and two other agents through the smelliest and filthiest section of the New York City subway system. "How is it that Gwen gets to go and sweet talk your boyfriend into returning to A.L.B.I.O.N while we're all stuck almost a hundred feet underground hunting down hellhound babies?"

"Just lucky, I guess." Merlin responded, before turning his attention to Morgana. "Have you found anything yet?"

Morgana slowly moved her hand through the air, her mind reaching out to find the eggs. "There!" she stopped and pointed towards a cement wall on their left. "Most of the eggs are on the other side of this wall."

Will laid a hand on the wall and frowned. "Alright, we need to call in back-up. Have them bring down sledgehammers, maybe even –Holy Jesus!" Will jumped out of the just in time as huge metal beam shot out from behind them, hitting the wall and knocking a hole in it . He turned to Merlin, who lowered his hand and shrugged sheepishly before climbing over the beam and into the hole he created.

"Are you guys coming or what?" he called over his shoulder. Will rolled his eyes and followed, motioning for the others to do the same.

They moved stealthily through the dark tunnels, following Morgana's lead until they came to a round metal grate in the floor above a cistern. Merlin and Morgana both turned to Gwaine, who let out an annoyed sigh and nodded.

Merlin raised his hand and the grate lifted, sending hundreds of large roaches running in different directions. Morgana and the agents jumped back a few feet while Gwaine strode over to Merlin's side and looked down at the filthy water.

"We live a charmed life." He sighed sarcastically, drawing and activating two chemical flares from his belt before dropping them into the cistern. The flares illuminated the murky water as they drifted down slowly into the depths, eventually hitting the bottom. They waited for a few seconds for any sign of hellhounds but the water stayed calm, so Gwaine began removing his respirator.

"Remind me why I keep doing this." He said, handing it over to Merlin.

The demon grinned. "Free food and the safety of mankind."

Gwaine snorted as he pulled his shirt off over his head and threw it on the ground. "We should all sync up our belts, just in case." He suggested, casting a worried look at the water. Merlin and Morgana nodded in agreement, flipping the switches on their belts. Gwaine did the same and crotched down by the hole.

"Oh, Gwaine. I almost forgot." Merlin pulled a small vial with a little yellow stick inside and a string attached to the top out of his belt and handed it to the fish-boy. "This should cover your tailfin while you're down there. A bone from Saint Dionysius; looks like a pinky."

Gwaine took it and wrapped the string around his hand. "Thanks."

"Careful down there, Gwaine." Morgana asked, biting her lip in concern. "I can't sense whether there's a live one down there with all the eggs, so keep your eyes peeled."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Gwaine assured, sending her a wink before diving head first into the water.

* * *

**The Cistern**

**10:58 AM**

Gwaine moved purposefully through the water, keeping a firm grip on Merlin's reliquary as he searched. Something disturbed the water behind him, sending a shiver up his spine and he whipped around quickly, missing whatever it was by milliseconds.

"Calm down, Gwaine." He whispered, swimming away from the disturbance. "Nothing's going to happen. Everything will be fine."

Something flickered in the corner of his eye and he turned to see a translucent orb about twenty feet below him. Letting out a sigh of relief, he swam down to and grabbed it. He unhooked a metal canister from his belt and dropped the egg inside.

"One down." He grinned, searching around for signs that there were any more. His grin faded when he looked inside a gap in the wall and saw a pile of small, translucent eggs stacked at least thirty feet high. "I am going to need a bigger canister."

Deciding to swim back to the surface, he kicked up from the ground, only to knock his head on a small ledge poking out of the wall and releasing his hold on the reliquary, which dropped down to the bottom of the cistern.

"Damn." He grunted, swimming down to get it back. It wasn't until he reached the ground that he realized he wasn't alone anymore. Floating three feet away and baring its teeth at him was a large, ugly hellhound.

"Oh, shit." Gwaine barely got the out words out when the beast attacked, slashing him across the chest with his claws.

* * *

**Above the Cistern**

**11:06 AM**

Merlin sat with his back leaned against the wall, tapping his foot impatiently as they waited for Gwaine to resurface. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Morgana pacing nervously and looking in his direction when she thought he wasn't watching. It was starting to get on his nerves.

"Morgana!" he yelled, and she stopped, turning to face him. "Will you stop that? You're making  _me_  nervous."

"Sorry." She squeaked in a very un-Morgana way. Merlin frowned.

"Something's bothering you." he stated, standing up and walking over to her. "Something you're not telling me. What is it?"

Morgana shrugged in denial. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm… just worried about Gwaine. He's been down there too long."

Merlin opened his mouth to argue, but something shifted in the tunnel behind him and he turned to see the assassin from the library ('Myror', Gaius had told him) standing at the mouth of the tunnel, watching them like a deer in the headlights.

"Oh my god." Morgana gasped. Merlin glanced at her face and he noticed that she had gone pale and her mouth was hanging open in fear.

Making a note to ask her about this later, he looked back at the man, still just standing there.

"FBI!" Will called, raising his gun at the assassin. Suddenly, the man shot off down another tunnel and before anyone could stop him, Merlin was after him.

Almost immediately, Merlin lost him, the labyrinth of tunnels offering too many exits he could have taken.

"Merlin."

He turned to see Will jogging up behind him, slightly out of breath from trying to catch up. "What the hell? You can't run off like that, you bloody idiot!" he scolded, pushing Merlin goodheartedly. The demon went to push back, but paused at a sound echoing down one of the tunnels.

"Will, do you hear that?"

Will listened carefully and nodded. "Sounds like… music."

The music led them to a small room that seemed to be positioned in the exact center of the labyrinth. Around the room where large wooden shelves full of books and records and, strangely enough, decorated with old pictures of small children. Merlin shuddered to think why an assassin would have them and decided to turn his attention to a book laying open on a rotted, wooden table in the middle of the room. The book showed a depiction of a familiar monster with writing around it.

"Sammael: Seed of Destruction. Death becomes fertile ground." Merlin read aloud. Will let out a low whistle from across the room.

"What is up with this guy?" the agent muttered, checking out a shelf full of gas masks and replacement blades. He shook his head and turned to face Merlin. "Are all these people complete – _Merlin, look out!_ " Merlin turned just in time to be hit by something large and smelly, knocking him back into another tunnel and down an open service shaft.

He and the creature plummeted into the darkness, fighting and crashing through pipes and wiring until breaking through a wall and into a public subway platform.

Finally getting a good look at the monster, Merlin huffed. "Didn't I already kill you?"

Sammael roared in response and lunged at him again, but this time Merlin was prepared, holding his hand up and throwing the hellhound across the platform, straight into an empty ticket booth. A group of bystanders screamed and ran as it got back up and charged the demon, catching him off-guard and sending him flying onto the turnstiles, hard.

The hellhound turned and began to descend on the onlookers, who were frozen in place with fear.

"Hey." Merlin stood dizzily, head spinning from the impact. "I'm not done with you."

Sammael's tongue shot out at him like before, but Merlin grabbed it in his head and pulled. "Second date. No tongue!" he said, aiding some magic with his strength and dragging the hellhound towards the tracks.

Remembering his last encounter with the subway rails, Sammael started pulling away, running towards a young woman who stumbled back and accidentally dropped the large box in her hands.

"My kittens!" she cried. Merlin looked at the box and spotted at least half a dozen baby kittens poking their noses out of the box, mewing in fear of the approaching creature. Merlin concentrated on the box, lifting it out of Sammael's path and gingerly lowering it a safe distance away before pulling the hellhound's tongue again, throwing him onto the railroad tracks.

The hound released Merlin's arm and growled, making to jump back on the platform, when a train shot through the tunnel, hitting him head on with a disgusting splat.

With a sigh of relief, Merlin turned away from the splattered hellhound to face the shocked crowd of people still standing on the platform. He walked over to the box of kittens and picked it up before carrying it over to the young woman, who gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you." she whispered, taking the box in her hands. Merlin shrugged as he reached into the box and stroked his hand down one of the kitten's backs.

"It's my job." He grinned. Suddenly, one of the lights on his belt began flashing.

Merlin widened his eyes in panic at the signal, knowing it meant someone was in danger and calling for help. "Oh, no. Gwaine."

He ran from the platform without another word, hoping that Morgana and the other agents had gotten the signal too.

* * *

**Above the Cistern**

**11:07 AM**

"Merlin! You can't go off on your own!" Will shouted, but he didn't seem to hear him as he continued after Myror.

"Damn." He cursed, rolling his eyes before turning to Morgana and the other two agents. "Owain, Pellinor, you two stay here with Morgana and wait for Gwaine. I'll go after Merlin."

The agents nodded as Will chased after the demon, leaving them alone. Morgana plopped down on the floor and rested her head against the wall, deciding to rest her eyes while they waited.

The moment her eyes shut, pain jarred through her body and a vision seized her mind.

_Nimueh stood in a dark chamber, arms extended out as she stared off into seeming empty space. Valiant entered quietly, standing in the doorway in silence until his mistress lowered her arms and peered over her shoulder at him._

_"Sammael has achieved his destiny." She whispered with a smirk. "With each body that is slain, two more of his offspring rise, until they will spread across the world."_

_Valiant bowed his head. "I do not mean to sound doubtful, milady, but the eclipse will soon be upon us. Will all be prepared by then?"_

_Nimueh glided over to where he stood and placed a hand on his cheek, lifting his head up gently. "My dear Valiant. I know you do not doubt me. Do not worry, the child will be there… as will we all." She held out her hand and seven balls of light rose from her hand, six in a circle and one in the center. There was a gap in the outer circle. Another light that twitched and grew uncontrollably rose to fill the gap and Nimueh smiled._

_"The last player is now in play. Now, we only have to give them incentive."_

 

Morgana gasped aloud as the vision shifted, and she knew that what she was seeing now was the present.

_Gwaine swam faster and faster, glancing behind him constantly to see if the beast was still behind him. He cradled his chest where Sammael had struck him and thick, blue blood leaked through his fingers. He turned sharply to the left as Sammael lunged, barely avoiding the beast's attack._

_He frantically searched for a place to hide, finally squeezing himself into a small crevice in the wall. He flinched away as Sammael scratched at the hole, trying to get the half-fish before finally giving up and swimming up towards the entrance to the cistern. He pushed the button on his locator belt, sending the signal for help to Merlin and Morgana._

_"Morgana," He whispered. "If you can hear or sense me, get out. It's coming up."_

 

Her eyes flew open and she jumped to her feet. Her eyes widened as bubbles began to form on top of the water. She pulled one of the agents in panic, unable to form words out of fear.

"What is it, Morgana?" Owain asked, grabbing her shoulders to calm her. She pointed at the water in response and the hellhound's head rose from the water.

"Shit!" Pellinor yelled, drawing his weapon and firing. Owain drew his weapon as well and pushed Morgana behind him.

"Morgana, run and hide now!" He ordered as Sammael pounced Pellinor, ripping into him.

The girl nodded and ran down one of the tunnels, crouching in the shadows when she heard Owain's bloodcurdling screams, which were quickly replaced by an unsettling silence. Morgana slowed her breathing to short, shallow breaths, trying to stay as quiet as possible. A shiver crept up her spine as a small clatter echoed from the end of the tunnel, and she frantically searched the ground with her hand for something she could use as a weapon. Wet footsteps came closer and closer to her hiding place, and she tightened her grip on the small piece of pipe she'd picked up off the ground. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath when the footsteps were right on top of her and, summoning her courage, jumped out with the pipe over her head and yelled.

"Morgana, wait. It's me!"

She stopped when she saw Gwaine slouched in front of her, still cradling his bloody chest. Dropping the pipe, she rushed to his side and put an arm around his waist to help him stand. "Oh my gosh, I thought you were…" she began to breathe heavily and glanced around for any sign of the hellhound.

"Fido ran off somewhere else." Gwaine told her, and she sighed in relief.

"What about the agents?"

Gwaine shook his head in response and Morgana ducked her head behind a wall and emptied the contents of her stomach.

"Sorry." She whimpered when she brought her head back up.

Gwaine tried to shrug in response, but the scratch on his chest pulled at the movement, making him hiss in pain. "Have you heard from Merlin or Will?"

As if answering his question, three loud gunshots echoed through the tunnels, followed by complete silence. The two staggered towards the sound, hoping another one of their friends wasn't lying dead at the source.

* * *

**Myror's Chambers- The center of the tunnels**

**11:34 AM**

Will had considered going after Merlin after the hellhound knocked him down the shaft, but he reasoned that if Merlin and his magic couldn't handle it, there wasn't much the his little pea-shooter could do.

So, he'd stayed in the assassin's base, shifting through the books and papers strewn around the room to find some clue to tell him what this 'Nimueh' was up to. What he found made his heart freeze.

In one of the older books, there was a diagram showing some kind of mythical machine, powered by something called 'the Key of Doom'. The inscription on the side talked about seven 'pieces', which would lead the Key to the machine and would watch as it brought about Ragnarok, the End of Days.

"So, Nimueh is this 'Key of Doom'?" he asked himself, turning to the next page. On it was a drawing depicting the Key, and he let out a loud gasp.

"No way. The Key is…"

A loud clatter sounded behind him and he turned to see Myror standing at the mouth of the tunnel.

"Oh, shit." He cursed, drawing his gun and firing three shots at him. The bullets hit the assassin straight in the chest, but it didn't even faze him.

Will's mouth fell open as sand poured from the bullet holes and Myror drew his blades. In four strides, he was in front of Will, his blade shoved into the agent's gut. Will's gun clattered to the ground and he fell down beside it, choking down his own blood.

"Will?" he heard Merlin's voice call from the tunnel he'd left through. Myror must have heard it too, because he grabbed the book from the table and threw it into the fireplace beside him. The assassin grabbed a small crank in his shoulder, one like you'd find on an old windup toy, and turned it, his body suddenly seizing up and falling beside the dying Will.

Merlin rushed into the room a few seconds later, falling to his knees when he saw Will bleeding out on the floor. "Help!" he yelled into the tunnels, his voice hoarse from holding back tears. "Agent down! We need some HELP!"

"Merl…" Will choked. He needed to tell him. He had to warn him about the Key, about Nimueh. "You… y…"

He never finished his sentence. When Morgana and Gwaine limped in, what they found Merlin sitting on the floor next to Myror's body, crying over Will's dead body.


	7. A Red Demon turns Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.

**A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters- Medical Bay B**

**1:23 PM**

The agents found them all in the tunnels an hour later, having to pry Will out of Merlin's arms. Gwaine passed out from blood loss the minute he spotted the agents, his adrenaline wearing off, and Morgana, though physically fine, was suffering from a panic attack.

The agents who studied the scene decided that Will had shot and killed Myror right after the assassin stabbed him and both bodies were brought back to base, Myror's to be studied and Will's for a proper funeral.

Now Merlin sat on the patient bed next to Gwaine's medical tank, his face unreadable.

"He's going to make it." He turned to see Borden standing in the doorway, holding the files of Will, Owain and Pellinor in his hands. "That's what the doctor's told me."

Merlin nodded before turning back to look at his friend.

"Not everyone on the mission was so lucky though, were they?" Borden continued, walking in to stand by the patient bed. "Three dead agents. Three. And it's your fault, because you're reckless."

Anger filled Merlin's gut as he jumped up and faced the lead agent. "I knew those men a whole lot better than you did, Borden. Will was my friend-"

"Oh and that makes it okay?" he shot back, standing up straighter in an attempt to intimidate the demon.

"No, it doesn't make it okay. But I stopped that thing before it could hurt more innocent people."

A grin grew on Borden's face and he nodded. "Yeah, you did. Because that's what you do. That's why we need you. You have an insight." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You know monsters."

"What exactly is it you're trying to say, Borden?" Merlin growled, taking a step closer to him.

"What I'm saying," The agent scoffed "is that, at the end of the day, after you've caught or killed every single damn monster on the face of the Earth, there will still be one left – _you_."

Merlin was practically fuming now, but he forced a smile onto his face. "You know what, Borden." He said in a cheery voice. "I wish I could be more grateful, but –"

* * *

**A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters- Main Corridor**

**1:30 PM**

Gwen and Arthur stepped out of the elevator and were instantly greeted by Gaius, who stood by with a welcoming smile.

"Hello, my boy." He pulled Arthur into a hug, which the blond returned happily. "We've all missed you."

"I've missed you too, Gaius." He replied, before pulling away. "It's only for the weekend though. Then I'll be on my way."

The old professor nodded in understanding. "You may come and go as you please." He agreed. "We've made a few changes since you –"

The rest of what Gaius was going to say was cut off by a loud crash, and suddenly Agent Borden was flying through the glass of one of the medical bays, hitting the wall on the other side of the corridor.

Gwen drew out her gun and Arthur jumped back a few steps until they saw Merlin step through the window after him, obviously enraged. His demeanor changed when he saw other people in the hall and Borden took this opportunity to jump up from where he was cowering on the ground.

"I want this…  _THING_ … locked up! Now!" He shouted, turning on his heel and running down the hall in case Merlin decided to attack him again, but all of the demon's attention was focused on the blond standing beside Gwen.

"Arthur!" He exclaimed, his face lighting up. Arthur rolled his eyes and looked at Gaius.

"Hasn't changed that much. Home, sweet home." He walked past Merlin, barely acknowledging his presence, and headed for his old room. Merlin didn't seem to notice the cold shoulder and he turned to Gwen.

"You did it! You brought him back!"

Gwen nodded awkwardly and she and Gaius followed Arthur's lead, walking past him without a word.

"Gwen? Dad?" He called after them, but they just continued on.

* * *

**A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters- Merlin's Room**

**6:27 PM**

Merlin scratched his head with the butt of his pen as he laid out on his stomach, looking over the piece of paper in front of him.

"What's a strong word for 'need'?"

Morgana smiled at him from her seat at the corner of his bed. "I don't know, Merlin. 'Need' is a strong word."

Merlin's face twisted in thought and he shook his head. "Too needy."

Morgana ripped the paper away from him. "What are you writing anyway? A letter to Arthur?"

"Maybe." He sneered, snatching it back and sticking his tongue out at her. He shot up with a start and threw the paper to the floor when Arthur appeared in the doorway.

"Wow!" the blond exclaimed, looking at the cats lounging around the room. "Who had babies? There's at least five more than there were before!" An older black and white cat crawled over to his feet and he scooped it up in his arms with a smile. "Hey there, Felix."

"Well, I think I'll go and check on Gwaine." Morgana smirked, rising from the bed and hurrying out the door, leaving the two alone. A blush crept on Merlin's face, but Arthur was too preoccupied with the cat in his arms to notice.

Merlin cleared his throat. "Um, Arthur, I was wondering if we could talk."

"Sure, as long as we're not too long. I'm going out for coffee."

"Out? By yourself?" Merlin asked, giving him a curious look.

Arthur looked up at him and shook his head. "No, Guinevere and I are going."

At that moment, the agent in question decided to walk in carrying a bowl of soup on a tray. "Here's your dinner, Merlin. Eat up, before it gets cold." She sat the tray on the bed with a smile and turned to face Arthur.

"Are you ready?"

"In a minute." Arthur replied. "Merlin wanted to say something –"

"No, no… it's fine." The demon cut in, a fake smile on his lips. "You go on, I'll… I'll tell you later."

Arthur sat Felix back on the floor and nodded. "Okay. But you'll definitely tell me later?"

"Yeah." Merlin agreed, waving after the pair as they left his room. The moment they were gone, his fake smile was replaced by a narrow-eyed sneer.

* * *

**A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters –Morgue**

**6:34 PM**

Gaius clicked on his tape recorder as he finished his examination of Myror's corpse. The assassin was laid out on the table with his gas mask and uniform removed, revealing just how terrible and twisted the man really was underneath it all.

"The subject: Myror. Suffered a masochistic compulsion known as surgical addiction." Gaius spoke into the recorder, pulling a sheet over the body. "Both eyelids were surgically removed along with his upper and lower lips, making speech impossible. The blood in his veins dried up decades ago. Only dust remains." He looked at an x-ray of the assassin's back and frowned. "Four pulverized vertebrae. A steel rod inserted into his pelvis held him up. What horrible will could keep such a creature alive?"

Gaius clicked off the recorder and raised an eyebrow as he pulled two small slips of paper from a pouch attached to the assassin's uniform. He turned and hurried from the room, not noticing the fingers of the corpse twitching to life.

* * *

**Streets of Newark, New Jersey**

**7:03 PM**

Arthur held open the door for Gwen as they left the small café, each carrying a steaming cup of coffee in their hands. What they didn't notice was a shadow with bright gold eyes on one of the nearby rooftops, sitting and watching them.

Merlin followed them, leaping from roof to roof as the pair walked down the deserted street, groaning when Arthur started laughing at something Gwen said.

"What is so damn funny?" he whispered to himself. Gwen held out a small bag full of cream and sugar to Arthur, making Merlin snicker. "No cream or sugar. He only takes it black." Arthur shook his head to her offer and Merlin grinned.

"See? I told you."

They continued on and Merlin made a running start to jump onto the next roof, barely holding in a yelp when he fell short and was forced to hang onto the eave. Luckily, no one was around to see him in such an embarrassing predicament. Well, he thought there was nobody.

"So, out for a late night stroll?"

He looked up to see a smirking face gazing back down at him from the edge of the roof.

"Morgana, you can make fun of me later. Now, help me up!"

The dark-haired psychic grabbed his arm and hauled him up onto the roof with a laugh.

* * *

**A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters- Morgue**

**7:15 PM**

The sheet over the corpse ruffled and Myror's chest started pumping up and down. Gathering his strength, the assassin sat up from the slab and stepped down to the floor, quickly pulling on his uniform and mask. He tightened the crank on his chest three times before drawing his blades and slashing them around a few times to test his arms. His mistress' voice repeated his instructions in head and he nodded in understanding.

It was time to send the child a message.

* * *

**A rooftop above a street in Newark, New Jersey**

**7:32 PM**

Morgana and Merlin stood together on the roof, watching as Arthur and Gwen sat together on a bench across from the building, ignorant of their audience.

"So now you're following him?" Morgana asked in a snarky tone. Merlin ignored her, his eyes still locked on the scene below. Arthur was giving Gwen a shy smile, the smile he only gave when he talked about his feelings, and a huge pit opened in his stomach.

"I can't lose him, Morgana." Merlin said, barely above whisper. Morgana put her arm around his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"I know, Sweetie."

Morgana stretched her power over to where Arthur and Gwen were sitting and listened.

"I admire him." Gwen continued. "So many people in this world are horrible and cruel to each other. And they're human. To have someone who isn't, but who constantly puts his life on the line for others…"

Arthur snorted. "Yeah, he's an idiot."

"No." Gwen frowned and shook her head. "It's brave and kind and selfless. I wish I were more like that."

"He's… he's  _too_  selfless. He's reckless. It's like he doesn't care at all what happens to him, how any of  _us_  would feel if something happened to him. He's...just... such a moron."

Arthur took sip of his coffee and Gwen gave a slight nod. "Before he died, my father used to say 'We like people for their qualities, but we love them for their defects.'"

Arthur pursed his lips and didn't answer.

"He loves you, you know." She added, and he smiled sadly at his lap.

"I know."

"…and you?"

"I'm… not sure." Arthur sighed, leaning back into the bench. "I know that I care about him more than anyone else. I know that not a day goes by when I don't think about him. I know that when I was in Camelot, I missed him so much it hurt. But… I feel so confused when I see him, and I don't feel in control of myself when he's around."

Morgana pulled away her power and smiled, giving Merlin a little nudge. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Merlin."

Suddenly, three bureau vans sped down the road and screeched to a stop in front of Arthur and Gwen. Merlin's head perked up as Ewan, one of the senior agents at A.L.B.I.O.N, stepped out of the van and stood solemnly in front of the pair.

"Something's wrong…" he whispered. Ewan began telling Gwen and Arthur something in a calm and cautious way that immediately alerted Merlin and Morgana that something had happened. "No." They could hear Arthur saying as he shook his head in disbelief. "No… no…" Gwen put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Merlin could tell that she was in a similar state of shock.

Morgana held her hand out towards them to read Ewan had told him. Half a second later, she pulled it away like she'd been burnt.

"What?" Merlin asked. "What is it?"

Morgana laid her hand on his cheek and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Oh my god. Merlin… I'm so sorry…"

 


	8. Grief and Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.

**Professor Gaius Wilson's Library/Gwaine's tank- A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters**

**7:21 PM**

The library felt strangely empty to Gaius without Gwaine in his tank or Morgana sitting around to keep him company. When Agent Ewan rushed in a few minutes before to let him know that both Merlin and Morgana had snuck out, Gaius barely found the energy in himself to be angry or disappointed.

"Should I send out some agents?" Ewan had asked and the old professor had waved him off dismissively.

"No, Agent Ewan. Enough is enough." He'd responded despondently. "He'll never change – he's still such a child. Always a child."

Now, he stood alone in the library, putting together the slips of paper with the micro-scanner. The machine lit up and an image appeared on the computer monitor of the fixed paper, which he could now tell had some form of Cyrillic written on it.

"Sebastian Plackba #16… Moscow" he translated with a frown. "Why Moscow?"

He grabbed one of the books from his desk and flipped to a passage on Nimueh. Scanning the text, his heart stopped on the sentence after 'Date of Death'. "It's her mausoleum." He whispered to himself, snapping the book closed.

Suddenly, a sharp click sounded from behind him and he turned to see Myror, very much alive and descending the metal spiral staircase. The professor stood a little straighter and narrowed his eyes. "I see the puppet." He announced, casting a look around the room. "But where is the puppeteer?"

He was unsurprised when Nimueh dramatically stepped out of the shadows in the far corner of the room, a small smirk decorating her beautiful face. She began to applause slowly. "Very good, Professor Wilson."

"This was your plan. You've been playing with us this entire time." Gaius accused, staring the witch down. "These scraps of paper, Arthur's sudden relapse and return, Morgana's visions…"

Nimueh's smirk grew. "Cogs… put in motion to both to distract the child, and to lead him to where he needs to be."

"Moscow."

Nimueh nodded. "His destiny." She stepped forward and her smirk faded into a genuine smile. "You raised him, nurtured him, cared for and loved him. So, in return, if you would permit me?" she asked, raising her hand up to the old professor's forehead. "I will give you a glimpse into his future… the future he and my master will create, together."

Her palm rested on his head and a vision entered his mind.

_The world was red, from the fire that rained from the sky to the blood of the innocent people splattered across the landscape. New York City stood in ruins; charred, smoldering and crumbling. Apocalyptic beasts outlined against the fiery sky and monstrous shadows slunk around on the ground below, roaring and screeching as they went. The smell of decaying flesh filled the air, and in the center of the destruction stood a man Gaius knew all too well. His horns were taller and his body a much deeper red than usual, but it was definitely Merlin, standing over the chaos with a somber expression, the only sign of regret being the single tear that fell down his cheek._

Gaius gasped as Nimueh pulled back and the vision ended. "If only you'd followed your first instinct and killed him all those years ago, none of this would come to pass. But then again, how could you have known the truth?"

Gaius felt a wave of sorrow for his son… his little Merlin. Nimueh laughed at his pained expression.

"I have died so many times in so many different ways, Professor. And everytime I return, a small piece of my master returns with me." To make her point, she held out her arms and Gaius watched as something black slithered beneath her skin. "He's even told me the child's true name. Would you like for me to tell you?"

Gaius shook his head and held his chin up in pride. "I know what to call him. I call him 'son'. And nothing you say will ever change that."

Nimueh nodded. "As you wish." She gestured to Myror, who drew one of his blades and walked over to stand behind the professor.

Knowing what was coming, Gaius removed his rosary around his neck and looked towards a small framed picture that sat on his desk; one that Geoffrey took after they found Merlin all those years ago. His hand tightened around the small cross and he smiled at his son's happy face, before sighing contently.

"I'm ready."

"The child needs some… encouragement, to come to Moscow, leaving two more cogs to be triggered; grief and revenge." Nimueh placed a hand on his shoulder. "It will be quick, I promise."

And with that, Myror raised his blade and plunged it through the back of the professor's neck.

* * *

**The late Professor Gaius Wilson's Library/ Gwaine's tank- A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters**

**7:48 PM**

Merlin desperately pushed through the agents in the doorway, hoping they were wrong and this was all some kind of sick joke. But lying there at the foot of his desk, surrounded by a team of forensics people, was Gaius' lifeless body, surrounded by a small pool of blood. Agent Borden, who stood by watching, shooed away the forensics' team and cast the demon a sympathetic look.

"Alright, people. Move out of here!" He called to the agents lingering at the door. "This isn't  _Showtime_. The man's grieving, for God's sake. Give him some privacy!"

Everyone but Arthur, Gwen and Morgana filed out of the room, leaving Borden to close the doors as he exited.

Merlin knelt down on the floor by Gaius' body, fighting back tears that threatened to fall. "Dad?" he croaked, taking his hand in his own and brushing a strand of hair from his face. "I'm back, I came back home. I'm here." His breath caught in his throat at the words and he shook his head at Gaius' limp figure.

"Except I wasn't. I wasn't here when you needed me most. Instead, I was stupid and selfish and left without telling anyone, again. I left you alone." He gasped out.

"I wasn't here… and you died alone."

His entire body shook as he began to sob, not caring that Morgana, Gwen and Arthur still stood only a few feet away, crying tears of their own.

He felt a hand lay on his shoulder and didn't even look up when he felt someone kneel down next to him. The person pulled him to their chest and laid their head on his.

"I'm sorry, Merlin." Arthur whispered, stifling a whimper as he stroked the back of the demon's head. "I am so, so sorry."

"I wasn't here." Merlin whispered, burying his face into the blond's shoulder. "I wasn't here…"

* * *

**Outside A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters –November 2nd**

**11:13 AM**

Borden, Ewan and two other agents carried Gaius coffin out of the building and into the hearse. Gwen and a dozen other agents flanked them in two rows. The sky was dark gray and rain came down in sheets, but no one paid it any attention as the man they all looked up to, the man who began A.L.B.I.O.N, was loaded into the back of the black car, and driven away from the building for the last time.

Arthur lurked off to the side, away from the agents and away from Gwaine (who made a full recovery from his attack) and Morgana, who were standing close to where the hearse had been. Holding his large, black umbrella a little higher, he glanced up at the roof of the building and let out a concerned sigh when he spotted the young demon standing there, stone faced as a gargoyle as he watched the only person who'd always been there, leave forever.

The party of agents walked back into the building, along with Gwaine and Morgana but Arthur stayed behind, not going inside until the frail figure above disappeared from sight.

* * *

**The Library/Gwaine's tank- A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters – November 4th**

**3:25 PM**

"I have never seen him like this." Arthur fidgeted his fingers nervously and looked across the table at Morgana, who sat by listening intently. "He hasn't said a word to anyone in three days. He doesn't eat, he doesn't sleep. He just sits there, staring off into space."

He sighed. "Do you think I should stay here with him?"

Morgana peered over her shoulder at Gwaine, who floated right beside her. He shrugged and she bit her lip.

"Arthur, I'm not going to tell you what you should and shouldn't do. It has to be your choice above all else. But I will tell you this. Whenever there's trouble, all us freaks have is each other, and I don't think it's me or Gwaine that he wants."

Arthur considered this and nodded. "Did they find out where the sons of bitches that caused this are yet?"

"They also found a scrap of paper by Gaius' body and traced it back to a mausoleum in Moscow." Morgana answered. "We're leaving in as soon as everything's ready."

"You're both going?"

"Hell, yeah!" Gwaine shouted from the tank. "You don't think we're going to let Merlin go alone, especially in this kind of mood, do you?"

Arthur frowned. "Aren't there agents going?"

"Oh, please. Those guys are about as helpful as the red shirts in  _Star Trek._ " Gwaine scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Arthur chuckled and stood up to leave, before pausing. "Should I go to Moscow?"

Morgana sighed. "All I'm gonna say, Arthur, is that if you don't and something ends up happening to him, you'll be feeling that exact guilt and regret that he's feeling now."

Arthur didn't respond. Instead, he left the room to go to a place he knew he'd find Merlin.

* * *

**The Late Professor Gaius Wilson's room- A.L.B.I.O.N Headquarters**

**3:34 PM**

When Arthur entered Gaius' room, he smiled sadly at Merlin, curled up on the bed like a cat, facing away from the door. He stood by gazing at him for a minute or two, until he heard a few weak sniffles and decided to clear his throat to make the demon aware of his presence.

Merlin sat up in surprise, but when he saw who it was, he relaxed.

"Hi." Arthur greeted, smiling sadly as he walked over to sit next to him on the bed.

"…hi" Merlin whispered in response, speaking for the first time since Gaius' death. Arthur looked down at the boy's hands and saw Gaius' rosary braided through his fingers. He sighed loudly.

"I wanted to let you know that I've changed my mind and decided to come to Moscow… I mean, if you're still going…"

Merlin nodded. "I am."

"Great, I'll just –"

"Arthur, wait." Merlin's hand grabbed his arm as he stood up to leave. "There… there's something I have to say first. Something I have to tell you that I probably should have before, but… but was too stupid and cowardly to."

Arthur tilted his head curiously and settled back down on the bed. "What is it?"

Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I understand why you don't want me. What, with me constantly throwing myself into danger and getting hurt. You could never have the normal life you want –the normal life you deserve –with me around… with the way I look. I make you feel different, like you don't fit in out there in the real world."

"Merlin, I –"

"Listen to me, Arthur." He cut him off before continuing. "I'm not human. I know that. I can never make you feel like you belong. And you will always have to worry about me being put in dangerous situations. I wish that I could change everything; my looks, my life… if I could, I'd change it all for you. But I can't. I'm stuck like this. But, there is something I can do." He took Arthur's hand and looked him in the eye. "I can promise you three things. One, that I will always be this charming."

Arthur laughed quietly while Merlin continued. "Two, I will never let anything to hurt you if I can prevent it. And three," he moved Arthur's hand up by his heart and sighed. "I will never give up on you. Ever."

Arthur raised his hand up to Merlin's face and stroked his cheek with his thumb. "I like that." He whispered, feeling himself leaning in closer towards Merlin.

"Good." Merlin responded quietly, eyes flickering to Arthur's lips as he tilted his head slightly when they were a breath apart. Both of their eyes fluttered closed and –

"Arthur? Merlin?"

They pulled away quickly when Gwen poked her head through the door, sending them both apologetic looks. "Sorry, but Borden sent me to tell you that if you're still going on the mission, we're leaving in four hours."

She backed out of the room slowly, leaving an awkward tension lingering between the two. Arthur stood up first. "I probably need to go and get packed for Moscow." He said, avoiding eye contact.

Merlin did the same, suddenly finding Gaius' sheets the most interesting thing in the room. "Yeah, I should do that too." He agreed, a small blush growing on his ears.

Arthur left the room more confused than ever, not hearing the frustrated groan Merlin let out once he was out of sight.


	9. Moscow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 68 years after being rescued and adopted by Professor Gaius Wilson, the half-demon Merlin is about to face the greatest threat he's ever faced: Nimueh, the very witch who brought him to our world. Assisted by his friends Morgana and Gwaine, his FBI handler Gwen, and reluctant pyrokinetic Arthur, he will discover what it really means to be human.

**A.L.B.I.O.N AirBase- Russian Air Space**

**9:42 PM**

"In my vision, Nimueh said that every time we kill one of the hellhounds, two eggs hatch." Morgana reminded the small group standing around the table set up in the cargo area of the plane.

Merlin, who stood between her and Gwen, nodded. "So, if you kill two, four hatch and if you kill four… well, you're screwed."

"So, we take out the hellhounds and the eggs all at once." Arthur concluded from across the table. "How do we do that?"

"We don't play around." Borden, who'd been standing at the head of the table, said as he put a belt of grenades on the table. "Double-core Vulcan-65 grenades. There's a timer installed on the side. You set it, walk away. The cable connecting them pulls the pins and boom. No eggs, no hellhounds, no unnecessary risks."

Gwaine looked suspiciously at the belt from the other end of the table. "Those things never work."

"Never." Merlin agreed with a shake of his head.

Borden ignored them and continued. "Everyone gets a belt –"

Merlin snorted. "I'm not wearing one of those and blowing myself up." He interrupted. " _They never work._ "

Borden glared at him and Gwen quickly stepped in to prevent an argument. "It's alright, I'll carry his."

Once everything was settled, Merlin glanced over his shoulder to where Ewan and Roberts, one of the other agents, were spray-painting the words 'FRAGILE: LIVE CARGO' on the side on a wooden crate. He frowned.

"What are we putting in the crate?" He asked, feeling uneasy when Borden smirked at him in response.

* * *

**Volokolamsk Fields- Moscow, Russia –November 5th**

**7:17 AM**

The sun was just beginning to rise as three vehicles, two black vans and an old pick-up truck, drove through the Russian countryside.

Arthur sat in the cab of the truck, struggling with a map of Moscow while Gwen drove. He pulled out his radio and clicked it. "Prat to Falcon, do you copy?"

He stuck his head out the window to look back at the large crate strapped down to the bed of the truck, making sure it was still there before pulling his head back inside.

 _"Falcon to Prat."_ Merlin's voice said from the radio.  _"Who the hell's idea was this?"_

Arthur and Gwen both snickered a little and Arthur clicked the radio again. "We're leaving the main road, so you may want to hang on. How's it going back there?" he asked, ignoring the question. He could practically hear Merlin's eyes roll.

 _"A little cramped."_  He responded, sounding annoyed. Arthur smiled, knowing the crate on the back of the truck held Merlin, Gwaine, and Morgana and that it probably wasn't the most comfortable place in the world.

"Well, just a little bit longer. We're almost there."

Gwaine's voice now came through the radio.  _"Yeah, we better be or else I'm gonna be sick."_

_"Oh, no –"_

_"You better not!"_

Arthur and Gwen chuckled and continued down the road for a few more minutes until finally coming to a stop outside the gates of an old cemetery.

* * *

**Ostrov Presvyatoy Cemetery**

**7:25 AM**

Ewan pried open the crate and Merlin, Morgana and Gwaine fell out to the ground with loud groans.

Merlin stood and stretched. "Thank God, I was beginning to think Gwaine's elbow was going to become permanently embedded in my side."

The agents spread out around the cemetery, searching for the next two hours for Nimueh's tomb, until finally they all stood around a black, marble mausoleum.

"Okay, let's pry this thing open." Borden ordered, grabbing a crowbar and helping Ewan and Roberts to pull the rusted, steel doorway open. The door eventually gave in, creaking open to reveal an old stone staircase that descended into pitch black.

Borden swallowed hard and shined his flashlight into the darkness. "Alright, I'll go first, then Roberts…"

The rest of his sentence was halted by Merlin pushing past and walking down the stairs, completely disregarding the lead agent's orders. Borden looked back at the others, who shrugged before following the demon down the steps.

The group descended further and further down the old staircase, until at last they reached a three corridor intersection lined with aging yellow skulls. Merlin sighed.

"Okay, I think it's important that we don't split up –" A loud rumble suddenly sounded through the chamber and a thick, metal shot up from a slit in the floor to their left. Merlin pushed Arthur towards his right and another wall went up where he'd just been standing, cutting him, Gwaine Gwen and Roberts from the rest of the group.

"So much for not splitting up." Morgana said, raising an eyebrow at Merlin, who clicked his radio.

"Arthur? Gwen? Are you guys alright?"

There was a frightening pause before Arthur's voice came over the radio.  _"Yeah, we're fine. Gwaine says he's fine too, thanks for asking."_

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well it seems like someone was expecting us. Turn on your locators, and if anyone sees anything –"

_"I'll say 'Marco'"_

"Polo." Merlin replied, clicking the radio off.

Seeing no other way to go (the exit had been blocked when the walls rose up), Merlin, Morgana, Borden and Ewan pushed on down the corridor, which opened up into a massive chiasm straddled by a small, stone bridge. The moment the four entered, two gears above the entrance way released and steel door dropped, blocking the way they came.

"Well, something tells me that wasn't good." Morgana whispered, sharing a nervous look with Merlin. They carefully started crossing the bridge, holding their arms away from themselves slightly for balance. When they were about halfway across, a deep, thunderous noise suddenly echoed through the chamber, making the group stop in their tracks.

Morgana looked up nervously. "That didn't sound good."

"Sounds like something big." Merlin commented, glancing at Borden and Ewan behind him. The lead agent rolled his eyes.

"We should go back. You could easily blow that door back, and then –"

"Don't move." Merlin ordered. "We don't know what that sound was."

"I. AM. IN. CHARGE." Borden yelled, practically throwing a temper tantrum. "We are going to turn around right now, and we are going back!"

Suddenly, Merlin lunged forward and grabbed the collar of the agents shirt, pulling him forward in the nick of time as a stone pendulum swung across the chiasm and through the stone bridge where Borden had just been standing. Ewan, who'd been standing behind him, screamed as he plummeted down into the black abyss below.

Merlin looked back at the telltale sound of gears moving. "We need to move!" He shouted. A wall was lowering over the exit, and the pendulum was swinging back to take care of the rest of the bridge. Morgana stumbled across, and Merlin knew if they continued at this pace they'd never make it.

With a throw of his hand, Morgana was thrown the rest of the way, sliding safely into the next chamber. After doing the same with Borden, he broke out into a run with the others yelling for him to hurry.

 _Thank God I'm skinny,_ He thought, slipping under the door only inches from the floor.

The trio froze in shock for several minutes, before letting out uneasy chuckles and shaky breaths.

"That was close." Merlin observed, standing up and dusting off his clothes. Looking around, he found they were now standing in a long narrow corridor held up by stone arches, at the end of which was a dim lit room.

Merlin glanced back at Morgana and Borden questioningly and, with a small shrug, began creeping cautiously towards the light.

* * *

**Myror's Chambers -Nimueh's Underground Fortress**

**10:54 AM**

About halfway down the corridor, Morgana's arm shot out and pulled Merlin to a stop. He gave her a confused look and she pressed her finger to her lips before pointing to the room ahead. Suddenly, a shadow cast over the light, and Merlin suppressed a growl as Myror sat at a small table positioned in the center of the room, his back towards the tunnel.

Morgana sent him a stern glare and Merlin nodded in understanding, temporarily pushing down his anger. Neither was paying attention when Borden, who hadn't noticed the exchange, peered out from behind Morgana and let out a loud gasp at the sight of the assassin.

Morgana and Merlin visibly winced at the sound, both turning to shoot the man a dirty look before looking back at the chamber.

Myror was gone.

Merlin ran the rest of the way, cursing as he searched around for some sign of where he went. Morgana and Borden caught up quickly, and Borden whistled low. "Damn, he moves like a cockroach."

They spread out through the room, when suddenly-

"Merlin, look out!"

The demon ducked at Morgana's voice and a razor-sharp blade swung past his head, missing him by a hair. He spun around just in time to block Myror's next attack, throwing some of his magic forward to shield him from the swinging blades. A loud gunshot echoed through the chamber and the assassin glanced back to see Borden pointing his handgun at his back, the end smoking.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Merlin centered all his power onto his hand and slammed it into Myror's mask. The assassin stumbled back and Merlin punched him again and again, knocking him back with every hit until he finally fell to the floor in front of the demon's feet.

"You killed my father." Merlin growled, eyes burning into the assassin at his feet. "You're ass is mine." He raised his fist again but paused when he heard a wheezing laugh coming from behind the dented mask. "What are you laughing at?"

One of the eyes of the mask had been knocked out during the assault and Merlin could see a lidless brown eye look behind him, and suddenly the floor below him gave out. Grabbing at air, his hands wrapped around a rope that had been dangling from the ceiling above and he clung to it desperately.

 _Not that far of a fall,_  He thought, when, out of nowhere, the entire bottom of the pit filled with six-inch, steel spikes. He swallowed hard and looked behind him to see Morgana and Borden hanging onto the edge of the pit, using all their strength to pull themselves back up.

Myror rose from the floor and slunk to the side, eying the helpless Merlin with glee as he raised his blade to cut the rope.

"Hey!" One of the gears that had littered the floor flew across the room and struck the assassin in the head. Morgana now stood to his right, a pile of gears in her hand and a cocky smirk on her lips. "Don't even think about it."

Taking his chance, Merlin swung the end of the rope up and used his magic to make it wrap around Myror's ankle, then giving it a firm pull. The assassin was dragged back into the pit, a screech of terror sounding out as he fell down and impaled himself on the spikes below. Borden and Morgana helped pull Merlin back to the edge and, together, they moved one of the more massive cogwheels over to the pit, pushing it inside and knocking Myror deeper onto the blades, ensuring he didn't come back.

"Well," Merlin gasped, turning to the others. "You two alright?"

They nodded in response and Borden stumbled backwards, hand resting on his head. "I think I need to rest for a bit." He whispered, shaking slightly. "I'm not used to this kind of field work."

Merlin smiled and helped the agent to sit down before kneeling down and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. For helping."

Borden nodded and shrugged. "It's my job." Merlin rose back up and began walking towards the corridor leading out of the room. Morgana turned to follow, but Borden called out after her.

"Hey!" He pulled his spare gun out of its holster and held it out to her. "Take this. You may need it."

She accepted the gun with a grateful nod and jogged after Merlin.

The pair continued through the tunnels, searching for any sign of Nimueh or the rest of the group. After about an hour of walking, they both stopped suddenly. Merlin frowned and looked over at Morgana.

"Does that sound like –?"

She nodded. "Right below us."

The two laid down on their stomachs and pressed their ears to the floor, now certain that Arthur, Gwaine and Gwen were in the tunnel underneath them.

* * *

**The Other Tunnel- Nimueh's Lair**

**1:51 PM**

"So, Merlin honestly thought that we were on a date when we were getting coffee the other night?" Gwen asked, her eyebrow raised at Gwaine.

He nodded. "Yeah, that's why he snuck out. He was following you."

"That sounds like Merlin." Arthur snorted from in front of them. "Always assuming things instead of asking."

"Hey, Princess, you do the same thing. Don't even try denying it."

Arthur rolled his eyes at Gwaine's response and pointed his flashlight at a large chamber just off the tunnel. He frowned.

"Hey, what do you think that is?" he whispered, motioning towards it with his light. The others shrugged and walked towards it, eyes opening wide when they stepped inside.

The room was more like a cave with brown, calf-deep water sitting at the bottom. There were large boulders were littered around the room and against most of them were large piles of translucent hellhound eggs. But that wasn't what they were staring at. Sitting around the cave were five Sammaels, all fully grown.

Arthur noticed Gwen swallowing hard as she, Gwaine and Roberts began slowly backing towards the entrance. He started to follow suit, but the entrance was suddenly blocked by a steel wall, trapping them all inside.

The Sammaels were now watching them eagerly, practically licking their lips with excitement. Roberts, who now stood at the front of the group, pulled out his grenade belt carefully and started setting the timer as Arthur pulled out his radio.

"Marco! Marco, Marco, Marco… come on, Merlin, get your red ass down here, now!"

One of the hellhounds suddenly pounced, knocking Roberts to the ground and slashing him to pieces before he could finish with the timer. Gwen drew her gun and fired at them, knowing that it wouldn't do much good, but also knowing that there was little else she  _could_  do.

The ceiling began quaking uncontrollably, raining loose rocks down on the hellhounds, and Arthur felt relief fill him as a large section of ceiling fell to the ground with Merlin and Morgana crouched on top.

The demon jumped down and threw the hounds back with his magic, breaking three of their backs. He groaned when six of the eggs hatched and there were suddenly eight Sammaels instead of just five. Merlin continued fighting back, throwing them at wall, smashing rocks down on them, but every defeat just made his next fight worse and soon, there were almost twenty hellhounds all piled on top of him, trying to rip him apart.

Arthur watched as Morgana drew out a gun and open fired in an attempt to distract them. "Somebody do something!" he cried, turning to Gwen and Gwaine, who were just standing by watching with terrified expressions. "They're killing him!"

Panic was setting in and his breathing was getting more and more frantic. Then, an idea popped in his head and he grabbed Gwen's arm. "Hit me."

She gave him a confused look and frowned. "What?"

"Hit me, call me names, do something to make me mad!" he demanded.

"Ummm…" Gwen looked at Gwaine. Morgana, who was now out of bullets, let out an exasperated groan and marched over to Arthur, drawing back her fist and knocking him square in the jaw.

"This is all your fault! All of it!" she screamed. "All you are is a disappointment! You're not normal enough for your dad, you never stay here, and now Merlin is going to die because you're too much of a disgrace to get a little fire going!"

Gwen and Gwaine stared between the psychic and the blond for a few seconds before they realized that the room was starting to get really hot. Blue flames began to light up around Arthur, and soon they were covering his whole body.

"We need to run." Morgana said, grabbing Gwen and Gwaine's arms and pulling them over to one of the boulders. "He's too easy to provoke. I mean, I almost didn't even have to read him to find out what to say."

Arthur strode slowly towards the hellhounds piled on top of Merlin, his fire growing bigger and bigger. He thought back to all the times he'd lost control before; the park, the office, the mission, the hospital. Focusing on all the emotions he'd felt, he let the fire explode out of him again, wiping out the eggs, the hellhounds, and most of the cave in the blast. His vision faded as he collapsed to the ground next to Merlin's unconscious body and falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**The Hellhound Cave**

**5:52 PM**

Gwen raised her head out off the now-dry ground, her head pounding and ears ringing, but otherwise okay. Her vision danced as she glanced around the chamber, barely able make out the unconscious bodies of Morgana, Gwaine, Merlin and Arthur around her.

"They're all here. Four of the six, and the seventh." She heard a male voice say distantly. Her head swam as she attempted to process the voice and what all was being said, and a pair of black boots appeared in front of her face. One of them rose up and kicked her onto her back, allowing her to look up and see the man who'd been assisting Nimueh.

"This one's awake." Valiant smirked, leaning over and running the back of his fingers down the side of her face. "Thank you, for delivering the key to us."

And with that, he swung his fist into the agents face, plunging her once again into darkness.


	10. What Makes a Man a Man?

**The Catacombs –Nimueh's lair**

**8:45 PM**

Gwen's head ached something terrible when she finally reopened her eyes. She attempted to move, but her arms had been pulled behind her back and shackled to a stone pillar. Glancing to her right, she could see Morgana and Gwaine chained the same way to two other pillars, both now conscious and glaring at Valiant, who stood silently to the side with a hammer in his hand. At his feet were all their grenade belts, the timers now busted.

Her eyes moved to the rest of the room, immediately noticing that the three pillars had been positioned in a semicircle around a nave with a stone alter was set towards the back, behind which was a stained glass window of an angel holding a key. Gwen frowned when she noticed a body lying on the pedestal, but she couldn't make out any details about them from the angle she was sitting. A small movement in her peripheral caught her attention and she turned her head, her stomach instantly twisting into knots.

Merlin sat on his knees between the pillars and the altar in the exact center of the circle. His head and hands were locked in a wooden yoke that was chained to the floor, and something told her that whatever symbols were carved into the wood were put there to prevent him from escaping. His head bobbed as he began to wake up.

"And I looked," Nimueh's voice suddenly rang through the chamber, "and beheld an Angel, and in his hand the key to the bottomless pit..." The dark-haired witch appeared behind the altar, a small book open in her hands and a smug smile on her lips as she looked down at Merlin, now fully awake and glaring at her with hate. "These were the words I heard as a little girl. And now, the door."

She set down the book and walked over to a large stone slab that was to her right. Three small handprints were burned into the marble and outlined with a golden light. "Sent down by the Gods of Chaos so that, at long last, they may enter our world. All that it needs is the key."

"No!" Morgana yelled, pulling against her restraints, but she was silenced by a kick to the stomach, courtesy of Valiant.

"Yes," Nimueh chuckled, her gaze falling on Merlin once again. "You are the Key. The Key of Doom. Tell me, my dear child, what did you think your magic was for? Helping those worthless cockroaches?"

Gwen could see Merlin tense up and his hands clench into fists, but she saw sadness and fear in his eyes. The truth stab into his heart, and her stomach clenched with anger.

"Don't do it, Merlin!" she shouted. "Don't listen to a thing she says! You're better than –"

Valiant swung his hammer into her face, fracturing her cheekbone and making her see stars.

"Shut your mouth." He commanded, turning his attention back to Nimueh.

"Open the locks, my child." She purred, ignoring Gwen's outburst as she sauntered over to where Merlin was chained. She knelt in front of his and placed a hand on his cheek. "Just imagine. A new Eden… for you and for him."

She motioned to the altar, and Gwen stretched her neck up to get a better look at the figure on the table. She gasped.

Arthur was laid out lifeless and pale as a ghost on the altar, still out cold from his episode, with only a ceremonial robe covering his body. She thought about how much he looked like a human sacrifice, and felt sick to her stomach.

Merlin gave Nimueh a defiant stare."No." he growled, his voice full of rage.

Nimueh pursed her lips, looking disappointed but not surprised by the demon's answer. "In exchange for his life, then?"

Merlin's eyes widened and he held his breath, not trusting his voice as he shook his head no. Nimueh sighed.

"Very well." She rose back up and drifted over to stand behind the altar.

"No." Merlin begged, pulling against his restraint, desperately trying to break free. Nimueh ignored his pleas and leaned in close over Arthur's face. A short, whispered spell slipped from her lips and the blond's mouth opened and a blue mist trickled out.

"No, no, no, no, please no…" Merlin was crying now and pulling the chains with every ounce of strength he possessed while Arthur's body convulsed and arched in pain. Finally, the movements stopped and Arthur's body went limp. Nimueh inhaled the blue mist with a grin.

"He is dead." She proclaimed, and something in Merlin's eyes shattered. He crumbled to the floor in agony and a pathetic whimper fell from his lips.

"You bitch!" This time, it was Gwaine who had the outburst, tugging against the chains with his hands out, ready to strangle Nimueh with his bare hands. "I'll kill you!"

A cry of pain sounded from Gwaine's pillar and he was silenced, but Gwen's attention was on the broken demon sobbing in front of them.

"His soul awaits you on the other side, my child." Nimueh continued. "If you want him back, all you have to do is unlock the door…and claim him." She glanced up at the sky. "The eclipse is beginning."

Gwen could see Merlin's inner struggle for an answer, to find a reason to say no, but she knew the moment he dropped his head in defeat what he would say.

"For Arthur." His voice came out in a hoarse whisper. "I'll do it for Arthur."

A triumphant look crossed Nimueh's face and she moved back to kneeling in front of him. "You won't be needing this." Her hand grabbed around Gaius' rosary and snatched it from the boy's wrist before tossing it away. "The symbols etched into the wood around your hands are what have been preventing you from using your magic. They are your name, your true name… Emrys. You must say it. You must become the key."

Merlin took a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes closed. "Emrys."

A shiver ran down Gwen's spine as a golden light engulfed the demon like flames, destroying the yoke and allowing him to stand. His horns extended out until they were at least a foot tall and a golden-red flame settled between them like a crown. A new arrogance and sense of power seemed to take over him, and when Gwen saw his eyes, she knew that this was no longer the Merlin they knew. This was Emrys, the Key of Doom and Prince of Hell.

"Merls! Come on, don't do this!"

"Please listen to us! We're your friends!"

Gwaine and Morgana continued with their screams of protest while Gwen watched pensively, knowing that all the pleading in the world wouldn't get through to him, and that if she wanted to stop him, she had to get loose of her shackles.

She started pulling against her shackles, keeping a cautious eye on Valiant as she worked, but he was too busy watching with awe as Emrys approached the slab and placed his hand on the first marker, sending a beam of crimson light shooting up into the sky.

The pulling was beginning to cut through Gwen's skin and suddenly, an idea came to mind. Using her other hand, she spread the blood from her wrist over her hand and started working it free, the blood making it easier to slip out.

Emrys placed a hand on the second lock and the light grew brighter. Storm clouds began churning overhead.

Gwen had finally pulled her right hand free and begun to work on the other when something on the floor caught her eye. Swinging her foot out, she kicked it closer and stretched out her hand as far she could to grab it.

Nimueh's face lit up as lightning cut across the sky, lighting up the monstrous forms that had begun descending to the Earth. "Yes, now open the final lock!"

"Hey!" Valiant shouted, seeing Gwen pulling her hands loose out of the corner of his eye. He moved to stop her, but Gwaine shot his legs out and wrapped them around the Nazi's ankles, dragging him down to the ground while Morgana brought the heel of her foot down on his face, knocking him unconscious.

Finally freeing her other hand, Gwen stood up and held Gaius' rosary out in front of her.

"Merlin, remember who you are!"

The demon's hand stopped just above the final lock as Merlin battled for control. Seeing her chance, Gwen tossed the rosary in his direction, and he caught it without a second thought.

"You have a choice." She continued, feeling more confident. "Your father gave you that choice. You don't have to do this."

His hand opened slowly and Gwen could see the rosary branding his skin. He brought the other hand away from the slab and began stroking the mark with a thoughtful expression.

Nimueh's expression twisted into one of fury. "Don't listen to her! You don't have a choice! It's your destiny! You must open the door now!"

Merlin opened his hand and a stared at where the cross burnt into his flesh and looked back at Gwen with a smile. Before Nimueh could stop him, he grabbed his horns and, with a roar of pain, snapped them off at the root. The slab shook with energy and the beam of light cut out, sending the monstrous shapes back to the hellhole they came from.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Nimueh demanded, pure rage seeping from her. She let out a choked gasp as Merlin rounded on her and drove one of his horns through her gut, anger and loathing filling his face.

"I made a choice." He turned away and, using his magic, freed Gwaine and Morgana from their shackles.

"You will never fulfill your destiny." Nimueh choked out. "You will never know the true extent of your powers."

Merlin shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to find a way to live with that."

"Merlin…" Morgana whispered, looking at the altar behind him. The demon's heart fell to his stomach when he remembered the reason he'd said yes in the first place.

He slowly approached the blond still laid out on the table and placed a hand on his cheek Merlin held back his tears for later as he pressed a kiss on Arthur's forehead and, with the help of some magic, scooped him into his arms and started carrying him away from the horrific lair.

"Child…" He turned again to Nimueh, who sat on the ground with a broad grin on her face. "Look at what you've done…" Merlin gaped as black tendrils slithered under the skin of her face and arms. "You have killed me… a mere mortal… but you have brought forth a God."

To everyone's horror, the witch threw back her head and a group of tentacles forced their way out of her throat.

"Okay, I think we need to run now." Gwaine suggested, running towards the tunnel entrance with the rest of the group not far behind. When they were a few meters down the tunnel, Merlin stopped and put Arthur down on the floor.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Gwaine asked, coming to a halt a few feet ahead.

"Going back to stop whatever the hell that thing back there was. Gwen," he looked over at his handler. "Keep an eye on him. Please. No matter what, keep him safe. Promise me."

Gwen nodded in agreement. "I promise but… you're going alone?"

Merlin shrugged. "Ah, come on. How big can it be?"

As if answering his question, a tentacle the size of a subway train stretched out down the hall and wrapped around his torso, dragging him back into the catacombs.

* * *

**The Catacombs**

**9:34 PM**

The beast was huge. It stood at least five stories tall and was at least half that in width. Tentacles sprouted all over its body, which was shaped like a tree trunk with a gaping hole full of fangs at the top.

The beast swung the tentacle holding Merlin in the air and slammed him against the ground again and again until stars appeared in his vision.

"Alright," he grumbled. "I've had about enough of you."

He focused all of his magic into his right hand turning it red hot and pressed it against the beast's thin skin. It roared in pain and Merlin found himself face planting the ground. Sore, but free. He grabbed at the ground to push himself back up, pausing at the feeling of cold metal under his fingers. He lifted his head and grinned.

"Hey, stinky!" He yelled once he was vertical again. He shot some magic bolts at the beast to get its attention and another tentacle wrapped around him, this time bringing him up to the mouth. Merlin squeezed his eyes closed and sighed. "Oh, this is gonna hurt…"

He held up the grenade belt he'd found on the ground and pulled the cable just as the tentacle released him into the mouth.

* * *

**The Outside Corridor**

**9:52 PM**

A heavy silence fell over the group as they waited for a sign. A sign that said the monster was dead, a sign that said Merlin was alive… something.

Gwaine paced back and forth looking back towards the chamber every few steps to wonder if he should go back and help, while Morgana and Gwen crouched in front of Arthur's lifeless body, trying to find some sign of life, when the silence was broken by an earth-shaking boom that almost brought down the tunnel on them.

They held their breath for a second…

Two seconds…

Three seconds…

And a lanky red figure covered in slime came staggering around the corner. "I got him!" Merlin grinned, earning a sigh of relief from Gwen and a tight hug from Gwaine (who didn't seem to care that he now had monster guts on him).

"Merlin…" He looked down at Morgana, still knelt in front of Arthur, gazing up at him with tear-filled eyes. Merlin's heart stopped in his chest as she answered his unasked question with a shake of her head. "He has no pulse. He's not breathing."

The demon rushed to the blond's side and held him in his arms, brushing a piece of blond hair out of his eyes. Morgana and Gwen moved away and he rested his forehead against Arthur's, praying for one more miracle. Just one.

He didn't even acknowledge when Borden entered the corridor, looking like he'd been wandering through the tunnels for the last few hours.

He pulled Arthur close to his chest and moved his lips up to his ear. The rest of the group watched quietly as Merlin whispered something into his ear, and the air around them briefly lit up gold before fading back.

"M…Merlin…" a faint voice moaned. The others watched in amazement as Arthur lifted his head to look Merlin in the eye. "Merlin." He repeated, stroking his fingers down the demon's cheek.

"I heard your voice… in the darkness…" he whispered. "What did you say?"

Merlin chuckled. "I said, 'Hey, you on the other side. If you know what's good for you, you'll let him go. Because if you don't, I will cross over there for him, and then… you'll wish I hadn't."

Arthur looked at Merlin like he was seeing him for the first time and the blush grew on the demon's face. They leaned in closer to each other and finally, their lips met in a tender, yet passionate kiss. Arthur's skin lit up with gentle fire and deepened it as Merlin put his arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

Gwen looked on, thinking back to Gaius' words to her not even a week ago, and her heart filled with pride at the young demon before her.

 _What makes a man a man?_  She thought as the fire grew over Arthur and Merlin, haloing them and casting a warming light over the corridor.  _Is it his origins? The way he comes to life? Or is it the choices he makes? Maybe it's not in how he starts things, but in how he decides to end them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at kiss scenes. I am so sorry. 
> 
> I hope you liked this!!! I was thinking about writing a sequel, but I'm not sure.


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